WHY AFGHAN OPIUM OUTPUT KEEPS GROWING

KABUL, Afghanistan -- With this conflict-torn country on track to
produce another record amount of opium this year, U.S. officials want
to significantly step up efforts to eradicate poppy crops before the
fall harvest. The problem for the U.S. officials is that their Afghan
and North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies oppose their aggressive
plans. The United Nations estimates that farmers in Afghanistan are
cultivating about 457,000 acres of poppy, the source of opium. That
would represent a 10% increase from last year and an 80% jump from
the 254,000 acres harvested in 2005, according to the U.N.

"We are all disappointed with the eradication efforts so far," said
U.S. Ambassador William Wood.

Profits from the opium trade are being used to fund both Taliban
insurgents and local warlords' militias. These groups have sapped the
influence of the central government in Kabul and contributed to
increased unrest in the southern part of the country, where the
Taliban movement was born. The Taliban movement, which sheltered al
Qaeda before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was driven from
power in Afghanistan by the U.S. later that year. Today, it is the
base of an insurgent movement that seeks to remove the country's
democratically elected, U.S.-supported government. U.S., Afghan and
European officials remain divided over how best to deal with the
poppy crop, leading largely to inaction.

"There is really no clear consensus from my view for a comprehensive
way forward on the counternarcotics in Afghanistan," said Adm.
William Fallon, the top commander of U.S. forces in the region.

European and Afghan officials worry that a very aggressive approach
could hurt the local economy and drive farmers to join the Taliban
movement. U.S. officials would like to rely on aerial spraying, which
is the most effective way to destroy the poppy crop. But Afghan and
NATO officials in Afghanistan say such an approach is indiscriminate.

Instead, U.S. officials are pushing a program to spray poppy crops
from the ground. While the Europeans and Afghans believe that some
modest eradication must be done through ground-based spraying, they
argue that this should be accompanied by a push to provide a
realistic economic alternative to growing poppy. The problem is that
there is no crop or industry in Afghanistan that can match its profitability.

The U.S., to blunt the impact of spraying on the economy, plans to
flood the major poppy-growing provinces in the south with aid.
Helmand Province, a Taliban stronghold dominated by the opium trade,
is on pace to get about $270 million in aid next year. If it were a
country, it would be the fifth-largest recipient of U.S. development
aid in the world, Mr. Wood said.

European officials caution that even the massive influx of aid won't
make up for the impact of the poppy eradication on the Afghan
economy. "The economy of this country is based on the opium trade,"
said one senior European official in Afghanistan. "You can't just
pull it away. It is a moral dilemma."

U.S. officials counter that the aid programs, which are focused on
building schools, roads and health clinics, aren't having the impact
they should because of the violence associated with the opium trade
and the growing Taliban presence. In many instances the Taliban have
attacked projects in the area. Contractors are reluctant to work in
areas where there is intense fighting.

Intensifying eradication efforts would also put major demands on
U.S., Afghan and NATO forces. Senior U.S. military officials say
large numbers of Afghan troops may have to be redirected to protect
eradication teams. Those troops are focused on patrolling Afghan
cities in the south and east where the Taliban are seeking a
foothold, and if they are pulled to focus on poppy eradication, some
military officials worry that the Taliban would fill the void.

As NATO troops take part in a surge in fighting in the south, largely
against Taliban forces, a doubling of the U.S. military force in the
restive eastern part of the country has blunted an expected enemy
Taliban offensive from across the border in Pakistan, U.S. officials
say. Some Afghan troops would also likely have to be pulled from the
border region with Pakistan, where the U.S. says they have played a
significant role in turning back an expected spring offensive by the Taliban.

"It takes a significant amount of manpower to secure an eradication
effort," said Brig. Gen. Robert Cone, who oversees the training of
the Afghan army and police forces.