UN Report Misleading on Afghanistan's Drug Problem

[Democracyinkind]

A really good article for anyone interested in the Afghan opium problem. The author clearly has his own idea who the main culprits are - that may be a bit of a put-down, but it does seems that he knows what he's talking about. DO read the whole article. It provides many relevant links to official reports on the problem - best thing about this article are the links. A must read for anyone who sees the Opium angle as the central one to the whole Afghanistan story.


one tidbit (but read the whole thing, really)

"

The total revenue generated by opiates within Afghanistan is about $3.4 billion per year. Of this figure, according to UNODC, the Taliban get only 4% of the sum. Farmers, meanwhile, get 21%.

And the remaining 75%? Al-Qaeda? No: The report specifies that it "does not appear to have a direct role in the Afghan opiates trade," although it may participate in "low-level drugs and/or arms smuggling" along the Pakistani border.

Instead, the remaining 75% is captured by government officials, the police, local and regional power brokers and traffickers — in short, many of the groups now supported (or tolerated) by the United States and NATO are important actors in the drug trade.

"

link:

http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6553