A bit of history, before 1980, Afghanistan produced 0% of the worlds opium. In 1986, they were producing 40% of the world’s heroin supply and by 1999, they were churning out 3,200 tons of heroin a year. That is not opium, the 3,200 tons represents the amount of refined heroin, the finished product and in 1999, that was nearly 80% of the worlds total market supply.
But then something unexpected happened. The Taliban rose to power and by 2000, they had destroyed nearly all of the opium fields. Production in 2001 from Afghanistan was only a mere 185 tons, a 94% reduction.
The same dramatic shift in the worlds production had occurred in the 1970’s. Most of the worlds opium and heroin had come from the “Golden Triangle” of Southeast Asia. Today, though there is opium products trafficked from the region, it is negligible and the governments of the region either have eliminated it of in the case of Burma, strictly control it for thier own profit.
In the late 70’s the Afghani opium culture was very negligible and there was no heroin production. Within 2 years, Afghanistan was producing 60% of the heroin sold iin America.
The number of addicts in the Pakistan-Afghani border region went from near zero in the late 70’s to 1.2 million in 1985, a rise much steeper than any other nation.
At the same time, the flood of Afghani heroin was inundating Iran, which has one of the largest per capita rates of heroin addiction in the world now. The heroin also was being channeled into Russia with the assistance of the Russian Mafia. Russia now has a huge heroin addiction problem.
Much has been written on the involvement of the CIA as a force in the Afghani and the world heroin trade going back to the early 80’s with the funds provided by the illicit drug taffic as a source of revenue to what jas been called “our dark shadow government”.
The CIA allegedly pumped 2 billion dollars into Afghanistan through Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence during the Soviet Occupation as a way to create the heroin industry as a way to fund the Afghani resistance.
CIA assets controlled this heroin trade. As the Mujaheddin guerillas seized territory inside Afghanistan, they ordered peasants to plant opium as a revolutionary tax. Across the border in Pakistan, Afghan leaders and local syndicates under the protection of Pakistan Intelligence operated hundreds of heroin labs.
In May, 1990, as the CIA operation was winding down, The Washington Posst published a front page expose revealing that Gulbudin Hekmatar, the CIA’s favorite Afghan leader was a major heroin manufacturer.
The Post argued, in a manner similar to the San Jose Mercury’ News later report about the Contrra Affair, also a drug linked espionage deal, U.S. officials had refused to investigate charges of heroin dealing by its Afghan Allies ‘because U.S. narcotics policy in Afghanistan has been subordinated to the war against Soviet influence there.”
So, I guess, we “inspired” Afghani heroin production.
I am trying to provide a little background to consider the events taking place in Afghanistan now. The apparent disavowal of the Karzai presidency and the corruption of his regime by the Obama administration and what comes after?
I would like to explore the involvement of the Karzai family in the heroin trade. The family controls Kandahar Province, the major area of production. I would like to touch on the involvement of KBR and the Cheney connection. I would like to investigate the ways that the massive amounts of heroin actually get from Afghanistan to the streets of American cities. In spite of the supposedly extreme security measures, monitoring Afghani opium production and the vigilance of the Department of Homeland Security, the Afghani heroin still comes into America like syrup through a sieve. I will try to look at the facts surrounding the privatization of the management of Americas ports by Dubai and the corporate corruption on a worldwide scale that is a major enabler.
Most of all, after the near obliteration of the Heroin Trade under the Taliban, what caused the Miracle of the Poppies resurgence in Afghanistan in the middle of this decade?
5 comments:
The shy-high profits in heroin are too tempting for many power brokers to ignore, microdot. Even the Taliban these days are getting in the opium trade as a means to the end of financing weapons.
I lean more and more toward a quasi-libertarian global decriminalization of drug use as the only rational solution to eliminate the obscene profits that fuel the illegal drug trade. I say let the addicts have as much cheap heroin or cocaine as they want, let the federal government regulate and tax it, and invest the drug war money and new tax revenues in drug education and drug rehab.
Of course, the vested interests are making far too much money for my pie-in-the-sky scheme to ever see the light of day. Drug money corrupts powerful sectors of the US federal govermment, especially including the agencies that are supposed to be "protecting" the American population.
I suspect that you are right about the Karzai regime and its connections to opium and heroin production. There is waaay too much money for Karzai and pals to allow the domestic and foreign drug lords to have all the fun.
You are correct regarding the present Taliban involvment, but part 2 of this piece will detail the known and documented involvement of the Karzai family...htere are som pretty surprising twists and turns.
Thank you for you great comment.
I share your views on the decriminalization of drugs to some extent. There are many aspects to the allure of drugs to the idiot that come from the forbidden fruit aspect.
Karzai is a crooked as a road in West Virginia. British columnist Gwynn Dyer did an expose' of the man just a few weeks ago. Is it hard to imagine that the U.S. has propped up one more scoundrel-dictator?
If Obama doesn't work out, I'll vote for History Mike next time.
Thanks for a very informative piece, Micro. Once I was travelling in Turkey with my family. We were approaching a fairly big city named Afyon. My wife told me the name means opium in Turkish. Then I saw an unforgettable sight. On the side of the road, with no fence or any security in sight, there was a poppy field as far as the eye could see. It was shocking and awesome all at once. At some point we saw a sign in Turkish and English which said they produce 25% of the world's legitimate morphine. That was around 1999.
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