Wasn't that one of the things the US was going to bring an end to there? Anyone who has spent time in a poor country knows exactly how this process works. The government has a team of inspectors who are responsible for enforcing government policies such as the eradication of poppy. The government is weak and has very little money to pay the enforcers but guess who has the cash to supplement their income? Meanwhile, the US military dishes out another hollow statement about cracking down but hell, we all know they have enough trouble holding the country not to mention having the troops to hunt down bin Laden because everyone was sent to Iraq.
Mission Accomplished?
It looks to be a bumper year. Some 320,000 acres are currently blanketed in rows of dandelion-like sprouts that eventually produce almost 90 percent of the world's heroin.
The dramatic increase in poppy cultivation since U.S. forces ousted the Taliban from power in late 2001 has caused alarm in the West, particularly Europe, the destination of most of the drugs. Only a fraction of the output is consumed inside Afghanistan.
One reason cultivation had risen is that threats to cut down last year's crop never materialized, a U.S. drug agent said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of his involvement in sensitive counternarcotics operations. This year, agents hope threats are now backed by action.
