POPPIES KEY TO BEATING TALIBAN

Defeating the Taliban requires unconventional measures, for they are
an unconventional foe. One way to undermine their presence in
Afghanistan would be to buy up Afghanistan's poppy harvest.

Last year, the Taliban earned approximately $100 million from the
opium trade -- Afghanistan typically grows more than 90 per cent of
the world's opium poppies. Bereft of strong government and stability,
it is likely to do so well into the future despite the best efforts
of NATO to eradicate poppy cultivation.

If NATO were to purchase the bulk of Afghan poppy production, the
benefits would be huge. Afghan farmers could continue to turn a
profit from poppies which, despite inflated food prices, still bring
in triple the value of wheat crops. Western countries could recoup
their investment by selling the opium to legitimate drug companies
for production of narcotics like codeine and morphine. Prices for
illicit opiates like heroin and opium would skyrocket, putting them
beyond the reach of many addicts and forcing criminal syndicates out
of business. And drug lords in Afghanistan, including al-Qaeda, would
have less cash with which to fund jihad against our troops.

Legal poppy production would free Afghan farmers from the
intimidation of drug lords and prove a boon to the country's withered
economy and the world at large. According to the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghan poppy production decreased by 19
per cent in 2008 while the number of provinces blighted by opium
production diminished from 18 to 13 as wheat cultivation has risen in
response to soaring food prices. However, opium crop yields increased
by more than six kilograms per hectare this year and production has
outpaced demand for the third year in a row.

Global prices have not fallen appreciably, suggesting that
narco-merchants are holding back supplies. A more innovative solution
than playing catch-up to the traffickers is needed.