The Fifth Afghan War

By BRIAN CLOUGHLEY

...But according to official US figures that cannot be concealed, the area under poppy cultivation went from 150,000 acres in 2003 to 510,000 acres in 2004. The UN, the hate-object of the Cheney-Bush administration, reported that "opium poppies are now grown in all 34 Afghan provinces, up from 18 provinces in 1999 and just eight provinces in 1994." [Afghanistan created two new provinces in 2004.] The fact is that since the US invasion of the country its most lucrative illegal industry has expanded more than any other economic activity. The Voice of America (hardly a subversive organization) reported on March 6 that "According to the United Nations, Afghanistan still remains the largest cultivator of illicit opium poppy in the world, accounting for approximately eighty-seven percent."...

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