Opium Trade Finances Extremism in Afghanistan
Editorial, The New York Times | August 5, 2008
The Taliban are the most prominent security threat in Afghanistan, but they are not the only one we should worry about. ++ Over the last few years Afghanistan has become a narco-state: it supplies 93 percent of the world’s heroin and drug trade accounts for a half of the country’s GDP. ++ Afghan opium not only floods European market; it undermines the government in Kabul and finances extremist groups. ++ The US and the rest of the international community must quickly develop a coordinated well-financed plan to fight drug trade in that area.
