It Sucks to be the Drug Czar of Afghanistan
Fortune Magazine tags along with Afghanistan's minister of counternarcotics for a drug war victory party in which a huge stash of opium gets blown up with gasoline. Boom!
But afterward, as he is driven back into town in a black SUV with tinted windows, he seems restless, frustrated, perhaps a little defeated, as if he knows the morning's events were a set piece of political theater. As Kabul comes into view he points to a string of car dealerships and, with resignation, says that they are owned by traffickers. Passing a row of large, ornate homes -- commonly called "poppy palaces" or "narcotecture" -- he says drug money built them all. Then he sighs deeply, rubs his hands together, and stares through the darkened glass.
Cheer up, dude. At least you got to see a cool explosion.
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redditTaliban is anti-opium
Comment posted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/30/2009 - 10:54pmUnder the Taliban,opium production fell in Afghanistan by 75% or more during their rule. They were very anti-drug. Some say that is why we are over there defeating the Taliban,not the terrorist,as we are told. We removed the Taliban from power too boost opium production,not reduce it.
And some say that Bin Laden bombed the towers over a drug debt,not out of hatred for American's.
Opium is afe enough?
Comment posted by Anonymous on Wed, 09/30/2009 - 10:48pmWe,the USA drug war advocating country that has forced our drug laws down every countries throat we could,had control of the valley where 80% of the worlds opium is grown. We didn't destroy the crop so as to not alienate the farmers,who have no other means to make a living. WE ALLOWED the whole crop too be sold to the traffickers,as usual,instead of buying the whole crop from the farmers and napalming it right there.
If that doesn't show not only too American's,but to every country that has destroyed their farmers crops,that we are only playing at stopping drugs. We are supposed to be zero tolerance on all illicit drugs and yet they allowed opium to be sold on the black market,the proceeds which WE say is supposed to be financing terrorists. This is exactly why we will never be drug free. And our drug warriors don't want us to be.
they should let every Afghan farmer grow limited opium crop
Comment posted by newageblues on Wed, 09/30/2009 - 9:31pmto support themselves and have the U.S. buy it for pharmaceutical refinement and distribution as pain control medicine that is desperately needed in the developing world. Of course that wouldn't eliminate the problem of Afghan farmers hating the US, or illegal growing and Taliban profit from that, but it would reduce it, and sounds like a lot better idea than sending more US troops into harm's way in this country where we are so out of place.