Opium crop sets new record, with 457,000 acres harvested, up from 407,000 acres last year. Afghanistan produces 92% of global production, up from 70% in 2000.
Taliban fighters are believed to tax and protect poppy farmers and drug runners, but so are Afghan government officials and pro-government tribes.
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In 2002 Super Bowl ads, the White House sent out the message that "drugs fund terrorists". Doug Wankel, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official, says the opium industry is "financing terrorism. It's financing subversive activities. It's financing warlordism... And if it's a threat to the government of Afghanistan, it's a direct threat to the national security interests of the United States."
"The Bush administration has decided not to destroy the opium crop in Afghanistan," stated a U.S. intelligence official returning from Afghanistan in relation to the 60% smaller 2002 crop. The source, who requested that he not be identified, noted "U.S. forces could destroy the crops using aerial spraying techniques, but no such actions are planned."[1]
U.S. plans to spray the crops were canceled at the request of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has called for jihad or "holy war", but is concerned that aerial spraying could be harmful to the health of Afghan villagers. The U.S. claims that the spraying would be safe, but is granting Karzai's request.
Karzai has indicated that he may change his mind if other U.S. strategies fail to halt the opium. Congress budgeted $774 million for anti-drug operations in Afghanistan just this year.
To the extent the 2002 numbers are valid today, the street value of the 2005 harvest should be roughly twice the street value of the 2002 harvest, about 173 billion USD.
To put these numbers in perspective, the total market capitalization of Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler combined is about 76 billion USD. The total market capitalization of Toyota and Honda combined is about 167 billion USD.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was formed to promote harmonization of international antimoney laundering (AML) laws. Despite the fact that tens of billions of USDs are generated from the Afgan opium harvest alone, the FATF has not added Afganistan to its blacklist of uncooperative nations. One has to wonder, therefore, what the poppy farmers are doing with their share of the money that escapes the notice of the banking system and the FATF.
Text
Complete failure of the war on drugs, despite spending billions of dollars. Notice the failure to crack down on drug profits.
Taliban fighters are believed to tax and protect poppy farmers and drug runners, but so are Afghan government officials and pro-government tribes.
Text
In 2002 Super Bowl ads, the White House sent out the message that "drugs fund terrorists". Doug Wankel, a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official, says the opium industry is "financing terrorism. It's financing subversive activities. It's financing warlordism... And if it's a threat to the government of Afghanistan, it's a direct threat to the national security interests of the United States."
"The Bush administration has decided not to destroy the opium crop in Afghanistan," stated a U.S. intelligence official returning from Afghanistan in relation to the 60% smaller 2002 crop. The source, who requested that he not be identified, noted "U.S. forces could destroy the crops using aerial spraying techniques, but no such actions are planned."[1]
U.S. plans to spray the crops were canceled at the request of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has called for jihad or "holy war", but is concerned that aerial spraying could be harmful to the health of Afghan villagers. The U.S. claims that the spraying would be safe, but is granting Karzai's request.
Karzai has indicated that he may change his mind if other U.S. strategies fail to halt the opium. Congress budgeted $774 million for anti-drug operations in Afghanistan just this year.
To the extent the 2002 numbers are valid today, the street value of the 2005 harvest should be roughly twice the street value of the 2002 harvest, about 173 billion USD.
To put these numbers in perspective, the total market capitalization of Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler combined is about 76 billion USD. The total market capitalization of Toyota and Honda combined is about 167 billion USD.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was formed to promote harmonization of international antimoney laundering (AML) laws. Despite the fact that tens of billions of USDs are generated from the Afgan opium harvest alone, the FATF has not added Afganistan to its blacklist of uncooperative nations. One has to wonder, therefore, what the poppy farmers are doing with their share of the money that escapes the notice of the banking system and the FATF.
Text
Complete failure of the war on drugs, despite spending billions of dollars. Notice the failure to crack down on drug profits.
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