Opium War.... or not

[grydth]

Afganistan has been a major source of the opium used in the illicit drug trade. The Taliban was said to have profited from narcotics peddled to our youth.

Let's look at 2002....I recall reading at the time that, with the Taliban and al-Qaeda in full rout on their little donkeys, our troops came across warehouses bulging with harvested opium poppies.

Question: Does anyone know what happened to that harvest? I mean, with a War on Terror and a War on Drugs, the military would have destroyed them.... did they?

2d question: Would you have viewed it as a proper use of troops to have destroyed the opium crops?

 

[Sukerkin]

Before we get into that, what sources are they that promulgated the view upon which the premis of the OP rests?

I may have my late-night synapses all in a twist but the 'economic' statistics that I recall showed that the opium harvest only re-blossomed after the invasion of Afghanistan?

 

[grydth]

A good general history appears to be the United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs, " The Opium Economy in Afganistan" January 2003. I just found this after I saw your answer, and haven't been able to digest the whole thing yet.

The chart on page 10 shows very high production in the Taliban years, a huge drop in 2001, then a surge right back up in 2002.

I am wondering what role our forces have played....

 

[Sukerkin]

As to the core of the question, the answer is, as ever, "It depends".

Not all that long ago, our government initiated a war against China to force them to sell their opium products to us. It would seem that that is not all that commonly known in the current 'official' climate of anti-drug-abuse.

The present day drug-trade is very big business indeed and I have seen sources that contest that the high flow rate is actually a sign of corporate or governmental involvement/complicity. So using troops to ensure the flow of drugs (and, thus, capital) had both an historical precident and a present day intimation.

 

[grydth]

You know, when one has to go through an interrogation, background check and cavity search just to get sinus medication due to THE WAR ON DRUGS, I guess I'd have expected those warehouses to have been burnt and it made to appear that al-Qaeda done it......

 

[mmartist]

I don't think the war hampered the opium trade. The Taliban now use the profits to finanse their operations. As for the world drug trade some governments are definatelly involved, epsecially in Western Africa. If I am not mistaken several months ago there was a coup d'etat in Guinea Bissau exactly because of the drug trade.