FIGHTING POPPY WAR IN AFGHANISTAN

The only positive impact the Taliban had on the people of Afghanistan - and,
by extension, the world - was to curb the narcotics trade. Afghanistan is
traditionally one of the world's biggest poppy producers, hence a major
source of the international drug trade. Under the repressive Taliban regime,
the poppy crop withered.

Now the U.S. is trying to play catch-up, as Afghanistan once again is
a major drug producer. While diplomats in Kabul focused on nurturing a
democratic government, in the wild countryside controlled by tribal
chiefs, the poppy business bloomed again. It now accounts for 85
percent of the Afghan economy. This is another example of how the
focus on Iraq distracted Washington from developments in Afghanistan
after the ground war there was won. Drug interests pay little heed to
national flags or their armies, or to national leaders. They are
interested only in controlling the highly lucrative drug market, by
any means necessary. And often they are tied to terrorists; the
interests of both groups complement each other.

The prospects for democracy in a lawless place like Afghanistan are
mixed at best, but no legitimate government can thrive while the
economy is rooted in the narcotics trade. President Hamid Karzai has
acknowledged as much. The Pentagon wants to step up military efforts
to counter the poppy growers. Included in the plan is an additional
$257 million and more aggressive tactics by American forces.

The role is not a new one. U.S. troops have been used in Latin
America, Colombia especially, for years. Mainly they patrol the skies,
to make it more difficult for narcotics traffickers to operate, and
offer support to the local military. In Afghanistan they have provided
support to local forces in the war against poppy growing, but in the
future they may be directed to engage traffickers and search for drug
labs that transform the poppies into heroin and opium. This is risky
duty and detracts from manpower whose main mission is to keep
insurgents from generating Iraqi-style chaos intended to undermine
nation building in Afghanistan.

It is another element of the many-sided war the United States became
involved in when it decided to help rebuild the country, and a
reminder of the monumental task ahead.