Osama is Dead, Now Poppy Growers in Hot Soup; Next Afghanistan battle: Opium

mad mullah chronicles

from CNN - http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/

Next Afghanistan battle: Opium

By Nick Paton Walsh, CNN

Badakhshan province, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Far away from the war, in the remote hills of Badakhshan, there is another battle raging. Trundling into the valleys on dusty roads ripped up by large SUVs, an Afghan task force is heading towards their target: an industry so profitable that many fear it's Afghanistan's only viable option once the West pulls its troops and money out.
We've joined up with the Ministry of Counter Narcotics looking for opium. Here in Badakhshan, the Taliban aren't much of a problem. The real issue is the business that has kept Afghans afloat for many years. READ MORE