The Opium Democracy of Afghanistan

The United States is always proud in presenting itself as a model of humanitarian values. Based on this image, Washington often vindicates certain foreign political acts. But is it true in reality? Present-day Iraq alone is an example in how United States's “humanism” is being exported with the help of the U.S. occupants’ hobnailed boots. Since the start of the U.S. invasion in the spring of 2003 the life of an ordinary Iraqi has no longer been worth a dime.

Throughout the long history of the ancient country, even in the time ancient Babylon and Middle Ages Caliphates rule there, the loss of life here was never as massive as it is now. And Iraq is not the only example. The cynicism of the U.S. foreign policies at its best is most graphically shown also in Afghanistan.

Since the autumn of 2001 Americans and their allies have been busy installing “a civilised and democratic order” in that country. And what do we see at the end? Their activities have resulted in an unprecedented flourishing of the drug industry. Afghanistan under US influence has now become 93% producer of world opium.

A drastic hike of drug production in Afghanistan has been the direct implication of the policies the U.S. applied in that region. By mid-1990s Americans and the Pakistani authorities supported the Taliban movement, hoping to exploit them for the “cleansing” of the entire Near East, and after that – the South Asia. Unfortunately, this is a bad mistake, as the Taliban got out of control of their U.S. and Pakistani masters, and even turned the guns they had got from them against them.

Afghanistan survived a severe drought in 2000, and the yield of opium was insignificant. It may have appeared that following the defeat of the Taliban in the course of the anti-terrorist operation and their removal from power, the scope of opium growing would have decreased. Nothing of the kind! Moreover, in the heat of the anti-terrorist operation in the autumn of 2001, the opium poppy was sown everywhere in Afghanistan, including the provinces, “liberated” by Americans.

Southwest Asian heroin sold for $65,000 to $140,000 per kilogram in New York. While, 10 kg of opium might yield 1 kg of pure Heroin. A fantastic crop of 8,200 tonnes of the opium poppy has been reaped in Afghanistan in 2007, a 34% increase over 6,700 tonnes in 2006. Starting from the time the Taliban were ousted from Kabul in 2001, the opium poppy crop acreage increased from 8,000 hectares to 193,000 hectares.


The entire 2007 Afghan opium crop would worth at least US$ 53,3 billions based on the price of New York illegal drug market. This is comparable to the 4th largest defense spending in the world. Taliban certainly only grab a significantly lower of fund from this drug business, as they extort only 10% of farmers earning. But what is significant is that US and western allies citizens, particularly the drug addicts, have contributed their money to a hostile force of their own country.

Afghan opium field is becoming more valuable than any goldmine or oilfields as it is inexhaustible and able to yield billions of dollars to Afghan people and ultimately Taliban, at low initial investment.