Poppyland

No, the Taliban are not a nice bunch of guys. Who would want to envelop the bodies of women in a burqa where not even the eyes are visible? Men who impose this requirement must be totally out of their minds. The Taliban wanted to establish a dark medieval society. But what can you expect after 200 years of meddling by the foreign powers: the British, the Russians, the Iranians, the Pakistanis, the U.S. and an assorted collection of NATO troops? But the Talibs scored two achievements: they defeated the warlords and brought some sort of justice. Cruel justice, chopping of hands, feet and penises. And they almost eradicated the opium production.

Today, Afghanistan is ruled by nobody. There is the puppet Karzai regime in the presidential palace in Kabul, the warlords, the resurgent Taliban and the NATO troops. And guess what: the opium production is soaring to record highs. (The Independent: “Record opium crop helps the Taliban fund its resistance”), (The Guardian: “UN horrified by surge in opium trade in Helmand”), (The New York Times: “Afghan Opium Crop at Record High”).

Opium production increased more than a third compared to last year. Helmand province is the biggest single opium producer in the world, right under the noses of the NATO armies. The head of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa had to admit: “The results are very bad, terrifyingly bad”. And who is to be held responsible for this? The foreign armies occupying Afghanistan today.