Afghan opium production drops sharply
posted at 9:30 am on October 25, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
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The US reports that they expect opium production in Afghanistan to drop by a third this year, a remarkable amount of progress in a war-torn country with poor infrastructure for most other crops. The UN expects a less-dramatic decline, but either would be good news for the Hamid Karzai government:
Opium production in Afghanistan will fall by almost a third this year, according to a US government report.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy report estimates opium production will plunge by 31% to 5,500 tonnes compared to 8,000 in 2007.
The United Nations, however, estimates the drop in opium production will only be 6% this year.
Ninety percent of the world’s opium – which is used to make heroin – comes from Afghanistan.
That’s bad news for junkies, and it’s bad news for the Taliban as well. They rely on drug money to fund their operations, which is a bit of irony, since they tried to suppress opium production while in power. Their territory has grown smaller, too, as 18 of the 34 provinces in Afghanistan have become poppy-free.
Weaning Afghanistan off of opium will take more than a military presence and a drought, both of which contributed to the decline in 2008. Afghanistan has almost no infrastructure for normal agriculture — no electricty for refrigeration, no established transportation to quickly move crops to market, not even reliable roads for trucks that barely exist. Without that, Afghan farmers would starve in the winter as their food stores would either spoil or get depleted. Opium, on the other hand, can be easily stored and sold for cash at any time, giving farmers a reliable income supply during the harsh winters.
The lack of infrastructure has made this problem worse. The Taliban has loaned money to these farmers in many cases as shylocks, and they force farmers to continue to grow opium in order to keep their land — and not just the land. When farmers fall behind on their payments, Taliban fighters forcibly marry their daughters as “loan brides” when farmers cannot pay.
The drop in opium production may bring a new wave of atrocities in Afghanistan’s agricultural areas. Hopefully, NATO has prepared themselves to deal with that situation. In the long term, though, we need to build Afghanistan’s infrastructure so that they can economically grow other crops and leave the poppies behind.
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And who does this affect most? The poor. More proof of George Bush’s war against the poor!
Nethicus on October 25, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Like it or not, this is a good (expensive) idea. Some of the Allied Generals suggested detroying what remained of Germany’s infrastructure at the end of WWII and make them farm for their livelihood. Cooler heads realized that if we did that, then they’d rely too heavily on us to support them.
perroviejo on October 25, 2008 at 9:40 AM
So is this why al-queda in in South America? Have some coke and smile.
AMartinez on October 25, 2008 at 9:44 AM
Hemp.
Just sayin’.
MT
Mistahtibbs on October 25, 2008 at 9:44 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvgM1UiKIIQ
nuff said.
jgapinoy on October 25, 2008 at 9:46 AM
Because having readily available opiate-based drugs are a necessity for the poor?
Can I ask you a question, lib-tard?
I just took a peek at your blog, and you’re pretty much the cookie-cutter liberal. Is there some kind of kit that you guys order that comes with a latte kit, a New York Times Subscription, a guide on how to blame all problems on Bush, organic marijuana, and a crappy macbook that has an anti-PC sticker on it that you used for your first year of college until you decided to drop out and work the failing Kerry campaign?
Or did you just watch “Blue State” and decide that you had to be a carbon copy of Breckin Meyer’s character?
leetpriest on October 25, 2008 at 9:50 AM
Our brethren to the North have been given the go-ahead to attack this target.
According to the Calgary Herald, “Canadian troops in Afghanistan will soon target opium-processing laboratories and high-level drug barons in an effort to cut off funding for the Taliban, Canada’s top soldier said.
“But Canadian Forces personnel will not conduct operations to eradicate poppy fields, said Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff.”
It’s a good start. The overall problem is how to replace the income stream to the dispossessed farmers, and by extension Afghanistan.
The Soviet invasion and the Taliban regime set back Afghanistan’s economy by decades, if not more. About time Afghanistan started negotiating with the Central Asian nations about building an oil and gas pipeline across Afghanistan from Termiz south through Lashkar Gah and into Pakistan towards the Indian Ocean. Simply replacing opium production with basic crops will not lift Afghanistan out of the 19th Century.
coldwarrior on October 25, 2008 at 9:51 AM
I think it was playful sarcasm.
jgapinoy on October 25, 2008 at 9:55 AM
Look at his blog. He’s no libtard.
jgapinoy on October 25, 2008 at 9:57 AM
jgapinoy on October 25, 2008 at 9:55 AM –
As Freewheeling Frank used to say in Zap Comics back in the late 60’s…”Dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope.”
coldwarrior on October 25, 2008 at 9:57 AM
I thought my facetiousness was obvious, but thanks for the support.
Nethicus on October 25, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Oh crap, I made a huge mistake. Haven’t had my coffee yet this morning, only saw the first few titles.
My apologies Nethicus. Perhaps next time I should actually read more than just a few titles at the top, lest I look like as much of an idiot as I do now. :(
I’m going to go make some coffee before I post again.
leetpriest on October 25, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Pray for Afghanistan.
Zorro on October 25, 2008 at 10:08 AM
Why not just buy the product ourselves and use it as a cheap, abundant source for morphine?
MT
Mistahtibbs on October 25, 2008 at 10:10 AM
Whoa whoa whoa. . .was that a. . .what’s the word. . .”apology”? Full accounting for an improper reaction. . .actual mention of names of the wronged party. . .and an absence of “rhetorical fluorish” in describing what led to the event?
My gosh, I forgot what one of those looked like. How refreshing!
johnny alpha on October 25, 2008 at 10:13 AM
I like the way you think. Turn something negative into a positive. We need so much more of that these days.
johnnyU on October 25, 2008 at 10:19 AM
Crude down under $70 and poppy production down. sounds good. Now, if we could just stop providing a market for all illicit drugs, the whole terrorist thing takes on a new dimension. I would really like to see a poll on the number of posters who have indulged at some point in their lives. It might provide some introspection.
a capella on October 25, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Thanks leet. I was looking over my blog, and noticed that if you were just skimming titles, you could make that assumption. Don’t sweat it. In fact, I added you to my blogroll.
Nethicus on October 25, 2008 at 10:37 AM
This is really good news for the WOT,and
for our Team(Canada) to get the green light
to go after the Taliban’s operations are even
better!
Me thinks though,that the Lefty MSM,won’t call
this a reduction,but an increase,as per usual!
canopfor on October 25, 2008 at 10:55 AM
Sure, build bridges to nowhere in every Afghan valley so the Taliban has some thing else to destroy. Just keep dumping tons of money on Muslims. Apparently you think if you give them enough money then they will love and obey you. Yeah that’s the history of Islam all right. They just want handouts in exchange for their Mohammedan love. It’s poverty that creates Jihadists right? If you had a handle on Islam you would not write stuff like this but hey, why bother to know the enemy right?
BL@KBIRD on October 25, 2008 at 11:07 AM
They have to make a living. Which way would you rather have them do it?
a capella on October 25, 2008 at 11:41 AM
We need to buy it like we do in Turkey. It’s their only national cash crop. We use loads of the stuff here in the states in the medical industry. Sounds like a cheap ready-made supply that we’re turning our backs on. Also, do we make all of these former farmers wards of the Afghan state? Can they grow anything else? This is a slow disaster, not a success, Ed.
INFDL on October 25, 2008 at 12:01 PM
a capella
They will always have their opium to sell to the unbelievers. They have always been bandits and smugglers and they always will.
Afghanistan is a new sharia state with western (money) backing. They won’t want to lose that “aid”. There will always be a need for tens of millions to keep the lid on the “restive” portions and their insurgents.
It’s all part of the resource and moral drain jihad. Afghanistan is in the middle of nowhere with no resources of their own. It has no value to us practically and if the idea is to deprive the “religion hijackers” of a dry and safe place to lay their “anti Islamic” plans , well they are doing that in apartments in Manhattan and Dearborn right now.
This dangerous concept of buying peace from Islam with “infrastructure” is a shamefully wasteful idea that stems from the simple ignorance of Islams structure and purpose.
BL@KBIRD on October 25, 2008 at 12:11 PM
You beat me to it: I can afford to cut down on fuel, but the rising cost of opium is gonna hurt.
Tzetzes on October 25, 2008 at 12:31 PM
success? what? was this a drug war?
I don’t send my brave young men and women to fight and die for drugs. this is about freedom…
Kaptain Amerika on October 25, 2008 at 12:38 PM
This article gets a Grade A for stupidity.
The reason opium production is down is because growing wheat (due to global food shortages) is now MORE profitable than growing opium.
A Axe on October 25, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Sweet, I look forward to having some extra reading :)
leetpriest on October 25, 2008 at 1:15 PM
Strategypage reports that Iran is having a problem with heroin imported from Afghanistan. It’s their own weapon, backfiring on them, but letting that happen is morally very questionable.
njcommuter on October 25, 2008 at 1:53 PM
Grain doesn’t take refrigeration. Seen the world prices for corn and wheat lately? Bringing up refrigeration shows pretty much a complete lack of understanding of how most people live in undeveloped nations. You buy fresh fruits a veggies at the market every day. Things obtained in abundance during its season are canned, candied, dried, or pickled. Spoiled foods are fed to animals which keep very well without refrigeration if kept fed and watered. An animal is slaughtered, butchered, roasted and consumed within days. It doesn’t require transportation and refrigeration to get that goat from the field to the table. They just walk out the door and slaughter one.
Pistachios are an example of a crop that grows naturally in that area and is already adapted to that climate. They also bring good money on the world market. Most of the world’s pistachios come from Iran but Afghanistan had huge groves of them that were cut for firewood over recent years.
Afghanistan also has huge undeveloped mineral reserves.
There is a lot of untapped wealth in Afghanistan waiting to be developed. The deal with the heroin poppies is that the tribes struck a deal with Pakistan and the US to stop growing them in Pakistan in exchange for cash payments to the farmers to offset the loss of income. The tribes then just moved the poppy cultivation across the border to their tribal lands on the other side of the line. So now they get paid for not producing the opium Pakistan that they are getting paid for producing in Afghanistan. The tribes are getting paid twice for it.
crosspatch on October 25, 2008 at 5:56 PM
If they had a decent religion, they would know it is immoral to grow addictive drugs to harm your fellow beings.
But they got Islam, a pedophile warlord’s guidebook for permanent terror, instead.
Afghanistan used to be Buddhist.
Before the invading Mohammedan hordes slaughtered them all.
So much for passive resistence.
profitsbeard on October 25, 2008 at 9:09 PM
profitsbeard on October 25, 2008 at 9:09 PM
Ha…wonder what God would say about growing addictive drugs to harm human beings.
jeez
bridgetown on October 26, 2008 at 9:51 AM
Boy that’s gonna piss off the Democrats.
Buzzy on October 26, 2008 at 4:15 PM
leetpriest on October 25, 2008 at 10:02 AM
I did same thing last week. Was on the thread about Linux. Found out me best friends 26 year old daughter was going to be taken off life support the following day. I mis read a post to me. Took it the wrong way. I apologized, but don’t know if the person ever was able to read it. :) Felt like doo doo too……….
sheebe on October 26, 2008 at 11:55 PM
Drugs are not good. Can’t say I was a angel. In my early twenties I dabbled here and there. Never did heroine. Thank god. Then I had to experience a cousin hooked on it. Then he started sniffing inhalants. Watching someone that use to be a person. Turn into a empty shell. Pot is not a drug to me. I let it go a long time ago. But I have a lot of friends that indulge. Won’t knock them for that. Don’t like seeing teens smoking it. Here in Ca. grade school kids steal it from their parents. The teens do it too. I have met people in their 70’s and 80’s that smoke it. They don’t hide that fact either. Even though drugs can make one great money. Sooner or later they bust you. To much of a risk for me to ever do. I wouldn’t look good behind bars.
sheebe on October 27, 2008 at 12:01 AM
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