Afghanistan + Opium
WaTimes also connects the dots –
The spring opium harvest will soon begin in Afghanistan. So will a murderous spring offensive by the Taliban and its allies against U.S. and coalition troops. The two events are directly related, for the Taliban and the warlords are funded by the billions of dollars deriving from the massive, illegal opium trade.
But the solution outlined in the piece is flawed. And this misjudgment of the situation stems from this perspective on current policy regarding the opium trade –
Our anti-narcotics policy has long been hobbled by conflicting views and bureaucratic battles between the various players, including the Departments of Defense and State, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and other U.S. agencies, along with our NATO allies, especially the British. There is little prospect these long-entrenched divisions will be reconciled by themselves.
By blaming the current inability to combat the opium trade on interagency conflict the House Foreign Affairs Committee (of which the author is the ranking member) is attempting to “build a better mousetrap” instead of innovating. Real solutions – cooption, medical use, buy and store – exist, but it doesn’t look like they will get any traction.
-Shlok
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