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Afghan Opium Output Reaches Record; Drug Trade Aids Taliban
By Paul Tighe
March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Afghanistan's opium production reached a record in 2006 and the drug trade is supporting the Taliban insurgency to overthrow the government of President Hamid Karzai, the U.S. State Department said.
The country produced 5,644 metric tons of opium compared with 4,475 metric tons in 2005, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said in a report. Opium is the base ingredient for heroin.
``There is direct evidence linking the insurgency in Afghanistan and narcotics,'' the bureau said. ``Traffickers provide weapons, funding and personnel to the Taliban in exchange for the protection of drug trade routes, poppy fields and members of their organizations.''
The Taliban, ousted in the U.S.-led war on terrorism in 2001, increased their attacks last year mainly in southern and eastern provinces, prompting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to expand its 35,000-strong force. Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world's opium poppies and is the largest heroin producing and trafficking country, according to the bureau.
Areas under poppy cultivation increased 61 percent in 2006 to 172,000 hectares (424,840 acres) from 107,400 the previous year, according to the report. It estimates the country's illicit opium was worth $3.1 billion last year and represents about one- third of Afghanistan's licit and illicit gross domestic product.
Southern Provinces
Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, the center of the Taliban insurgency, is the country's most significant opium producer, responsible for 46 percent of the national poppy crop. Kandahar, Oruzgan and Farah provinces, also in the south, together produced 24 percent, while 12 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces were poppy-free in 2006, according to the report.
Links between the Taliban and drug traffickers are highlighted by the case of Haji Bashir Noorzai, the alleged leader of the largest trafficking organization in central and southwest Asia, who was arrested in the U.S. in 2005 and is awaiting trial, the bureau said.
His indictment alleges that he provided explosives, weapons and personnel to the Taliban in return for protection of poppy crops and trafficking routes. Noorzai was a former leader of a Taliban council, according to the report.
Drug-related corruption is also a problem within the Afghan government and is ``particularly pervasive at provincial and district government levels,'' it said.
National Conference
The Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics last year organized a national conference on combating the drug trade, the government's first effort to start a nationwide campaign. The plan didn't take effect until after the planting season for the 2006 crop.
``In order to make sustained progress in combating narcotics trafficking, the government of Afghanistan will need to continue to extend credible governance throughout Afghanistan's provinces and districts and demonstrate its ability to enforce the rules of law across the country,'' the bureau said. ``This will require international and political support over many years.''
The unstable security, political and economic environments limit the ability of Karzai's administration to combat narcotics production and trade, it said.
Fighting last year killed at least 4,000 Afghan civilians and dozens of NATO personnel. U.K. Defense Secretary Des Browne on Feb. 26 said Britain will add 1,400 soldiers to its contingent bringing its force to 7,700 service personnel.
By Paul Tighe
March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Afghanistan's opium production reached a record in 2006 and the drug trade is supporting the Taliban insurgency to overthrow the government of President Hamid Karzai, the U.S. State Department said.
The country produced 5,644 metric tons of opium compared with 4,475 metric tons in 2005, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs said in a report. Opium is the base ingredient for heroin.
``There is direct evidence linking the insurgency in Afghanistan and narcotics,'' the bureau said. ``Traffickers provide weapons, funding and personnel to the Taliban in exchange for the protection of drug trade routes, poppy fields and members of their organizations.''
The Taliban, ousted in the U.S.-led war on terrorism in 2001, increased their attacks last year mainly in southern and eastern provinces, prompting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to expand its 35,000-strong force. Afghanistan produces more than 90 percent of the world's opium poppies and is the largest heroin producing and trafficking country, according to the bureau.
Areas under poppy cultivation increased 61 percent in 2006 to 172,000 hectares (424,840 acres) from 107,400 the previous year, according to the report. It estimates the country's illicit opium was worth $3.1 billion last year and represents about one- third of Afghanistan's licit and illicit gross domestic product.
Southern Provinces
Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, the center of the Taliban insurgency, is the country's most significant opium producer, responsible for 46 percent of the national poppy crop. Kandahar, Oruzgan and Farah provinces, also in the south, together produced 24 percent, while 12 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces were poppy-free in 2006, according to the report.
Links between the Taliban and drug traffickers are highlighted by the case of Haji Bashir Noorzai, the alleged leader of the largest trafficking organization in central and southwest Asia, who was arrested in the U.S. in 2005 and is awaiting trial, the bureau said.
His indictment alleges that he provided explosives, weapons and personnel to the Taliban in return for protection of poppy crops and trafficking routes. Noorzai was a former leader of a Taliban council, according to the report.
Drug-related corruption is also a problem within the Afghan government and is ``particularly pervasive at provincial and district government levels,'' it said.
National Conference
The Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics last year organized a national conference on combating the drug trade, the government's first effort to start a nationwide campaign. The plan didn't take effect until after the planting season for the 2006 crop.
``In order to make sustained progress in combating narcotics trafficking, the government of Afghanistan will need to continue to extend credible governance throughout Afghanistan's provinces and districts and demonstrate its ability to enforce the rules of law across the country,'' the bureau said. ``This will require international and political support over many years.''
The unstable security, political and economic environments limit the ability of Karzai's administration to combat narcotics production and trade, it said.
Fighting last year killed at least 4,000 Afghan civilians and dozens of NATO personnel. U.K. Defense Secretary Des Browne on Feb. 26 said Britain will add 1,400 soldiers to its contingent bringing its force to 7,700 service personnel.
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