Thursday, July 06, 2006

Afghan farmers & British soldiers in prohibition cross-fire

This article from the Financial Times, published on the 5th July 2006, exposes the complete failure of opium farming prohibition in Afghanistan. Opium production is set to have doubled this year despite foreign military counter-narcotics programmes. The Taliban insurgency has been forcing farmers to grow the opium poppy while corruption has stymied all attempts to reduce the crop. Even government land, some 10,000 hectares, is being used to cultivate the poppy plant.

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