Opium production increases 40 fold in Afghanistan?

[Holly_Hobby]

(Is PressTV a credible source, or is this Iranian propaganda?)

Iranian police officials say drug production in Afghanistan has had a 40-fold increase since the US led invasion of the country in 2001.

...

According to official statistics, two thirds of the world's heroin supply reportedly comes from the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar. While Afghanistan produced only 185 tons of opium under the Taliban, following the US invasion drug production, according to UN statistics, surged to 3,400 tons and by 2007, opium trade reached all-time high of 8,200 tons.

...

“(The US and its allies) didn't want anything to do with either interdiction or eradication," said Thomas Schweich, a former Bush administration ambassador for counter-narcotics. "We warned them over and over again: Look at Colombia."

...

Iran lies on a transit corridor between opium producers in Afghanistan and drug dealers in Europe. As a lead donor nation to Afghanistan, Iran has annually contributed more than $50 million to Afghan counter-narcotics efforts in the past five years. The United Nations credited Iran for the seizure of 80 per cent of the opium netted around the world in 2007.

http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=94221&ionid=351020403

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. CIA is good at helping drug traffickers

it is what they do

[Optical.Catalyst]

6. The CIA will be there to take its cut of the profits.

The CIA seems to be around anytime there is trafficking in cold cash money, explosives, armaments, and drugs.

[EFerrari]

2. PressTV is Iranian state media but, that isn't to say they are wrong

on this story.

[billyoc]

3. If there's one thing that Iran knows about, it's heroin.

Iran has the highest proportion of heroin addicts in the world and a growing Aids problem.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/3791889.stm

[Holly_Hobby]

4. I had NO idea...thanks for that n/t

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

7. But, they are so holy!

Just like us.

[DCKit]

5. Wow. Who could'a seen THAT coming?

Five years ago heroin was available in the outer, southern, former USSR countries for $0.25 a hit. Somehow I doubt the price is going up with a tripling of production since then.

Our failure to act on this - i.e., buying directly from the farmers to keep processed heroin off the market and the farmers profitable - is going to bite the U.S. and Europe in the ass, big time and in many different ways.

[Echo In Light]

8. Holly, look into Peter Dale Scott's work on CIA, drugs, and deep politics