U.S. PLANS ASSAULT ON AFGHAN HEROIN

Poppy Growing Still Widespread

Worried about a vast and still growing heroin industry in Afghanistan,
the Bush administration has devised a more aggressive counternarcotics
strategy aimed at greater eradication of poppy fields, promotion of
alternative crops and prosecution of traffickers.

The plan, a mix of stronger carrots and sticks, attempts to bring more
coordination, more money and more muscle to Afghan and international
programs launched over the past three years that have not made much of
a dent in the lucrative drug business.