Cheaper to buy the Afghan Opium Crop?

[kandrathe]

Hi,
No one has ever gone broke (or lost an election) by underestimating the intelligence of the average person.

Also, it seems that the big stink with drug use (and alcohol) came about with the industrial revolution. Can't have the wage slaves incapacitate themselves to the point that exploiting them is no longer profitable, can we?

OK, that's simplistic. But not totally out of the question.

One thing I found interesting though, was that the record low for opium crop in Afghanistan was 2001 (8000 Ha, versus 190,000 Ha today) when the Taliban fielded a religious militia to stamp it out. I guess the "war on terror" trumps the "war on drugs". There is some documentation indicating that many intelligence agencies, including the CIA, work within the drug trades. It provides a cover for covert operations, including para-military operations, and is self funding. An observer of just the "data" might draw the conclusion that the invasion of Afghanistan might be related to Taliban interference in the CIA's profit center. If you look close enough there is this weird convergence of terrorism, oil, drugs, and arms. So, I guess the question is; "Does the CIA play in the pigpen, or sustain the pigpen?"