The Post-Partisan Emporium

WHO IS BETTER DRUG FIGHTER: US OR TALIBAN “TERRORISTS”?   Afghan poppy After returning to power in 2021, the Taliban vowed to end illicit drug production in Afghanistan and in April 2022 banned poppy cultivation, which is used to produce opium and heroin. A report by the   UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)   said poppy cultivation has fallen by about   95 percent , from   233,000 hectares (575,755 acres)   at the end of 2022 to   10,800 hectares   in 2023. Opium production also fell from   6,200 tons   to   333 tons   in 2023. This year’s crop is estimated to produce   24-38 tons   of heroin suitable for export, down from   350-580 tons   last year. UNODC warned of possible “humanitarian consequences for many vulnerable rural communities” due to the sudden contraction of Afghanistan’s opium economy, as farmers have had to switch to much less lucrative alternative crops. Farmers’ incomes, estimated at   $1.36 billion   in 2022, fell   92%   to   $110 million   this year, according t

  Remember What Happened Right Before 9/11? It's Happening Again. THE CORBETT REPORT by James Corbett Remember way back in the year 2000, when the Taliban took over large swaths of Afghanistan and set about eradicating the nation's poppy crop that feeds the world opium supply? Of course you do. Well, guess what? It's happening again. That's right. After Uncle Sam's ignominious  retreat from the graveyard of empires  in 2021, the Taliban infamously regained control of the country and set about reinstituting their campaign to ban the cultivation of opium poppies. And, once again, the results of that ban have been nothing short of remarkable. In fact, the Taliban's latest anti-poppy campaign is already  being hailed  as the "most successful counter-narcotics effort in human history" by self-proclaimed Afghanistan experts, with the country's opium production down a jaw-dropping 90% this year. And since you  do  remember the story of the Taliban's f