THE SECOND FRONT: POPPIES

The US campaign against Afghanistan as an exporter of terrorism won't
achieve much unless it also deals with that country being the leading
exporter of heroin to the world.

The two vices are linked by a flow of drug money that helps fund the
ruling Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorist network. But the heroin trade
flourishes mainly because Afghanistan's dirt-poor farmers find the
growing of poppies, from which opium and heroin are produced, is an
easy way to survive in a harsh, drought-stricken land.

President Bush has said he doesn't care about "nation building" in
Afghanistan, but whoever ends up ruling that war-ravaged land
deserves some sort of Marshall Plan that would prevent terrorist
plotters from finding it a haven again and tapping into the heroin
trade.

The Bush administration had allocated millions of dollars to
Afghanistan earlier this year to end the poppy growing. And the
Islamic Taliban appeared to have forced many farmers to convert to
other crops. But when faced with a need for money against US military
operations, the Taliban lifted their ban on poppy growing.

Now, the main recipient of Afghan heroin - Europe - fears a flood of
the drug on its streets, which can take as much of a toll as
terrorism itself.

What's more, much of the heroin comes out of areas controlled by the
anti-Taliban opposition forces, which the US is moving to support.

The US "war" on terrorism now joins the war on drugs. Fighting both -
together - will be complex, but necessary.