Afghanistan's Drug Problem Assessed

According to a new United Nations survey, the drug problem in Afghanistan is showing signs of stabilization, but the effort to combat narcotics trafficking in the former al Qaeda safe haven still has a long way to go.

The U.S. State Department recently posted to its website the "August 2008 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Poppy Cultivation Survey," says areas of Afghanistan suffering from poor security are more likely to facilitate poppy growth than those areas where security is stable and governmental operations are functioning.

In particular, the survey says, the north and central regions of Afghanistan are seeing a reduction in poppy cultivation accompany improvements in security and government services. In the south and west of Afghanistan, where the Taliban has made a concerted comeback of late, poppy cultivation remains an ongoing problem. Overall poppy cultivation decreased by nearly 20 percent already this year, according to the survey, and the number of poppy-free provinces in Afghanistan grew from 13 to 18.

However, the survey warns, the narcotics business is vital as a source of income for insurgent forces in Afghanistan, meaning elements of the Taliban and al Qaeda are not likely to freely allow the destruction of the country's poppy fields.

Current counter drug efforts in by the Afghan government focus on eight areas. They are public awareness, alternative development, poppy eradication, law enforcement, criminal justice, reduction in the demand for drugs, international cooperation, and institution-building, the survey says.

The United States also has a counter drug plan in Afghanistan, according to the survey, that focuses on five areas: public information, alternative development, drug interdiction, reform of the justice system, and poppy elimination.

Afghanistan is the world's number one producer of opium, and the survey cites a statistic from The United Nations World Drug Report that estimated nearly 4 percent of Afghanis are drug addicts.

Progress in countering Afghanistan's drug trade is being made, the survey says, and the efforts of both the United States and Afghan governments are focused on multi-faceted approaches designed to educate the population, eradicate the drugs, and provide government infrastructure to provide services that will hopefully make narcotics trafficking unnecessary.

The next year will see attempts to build on the successes that have been achieved thus far and exporting counter drug efforts to areas of Afghanistan that are less secure. That means progress will have to be made against Taliban forces that seem to be growing stronger after nearly seven years of U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.

Source: U.S. State Department