The War On Drugs v. The War in Afghanistan
Christopher Hitchens is always worth listening to, but here, he must be, because he’s making a point no one else will.
It’s a very simple point. Iraq may one day be a success almost entirely because it will one day (probably soon) be rich. It has oil. Afghanistan, on the other hand, has no infrastructure, no economy to speak of, and the greatest cash crop it is sitting on, the one guaranteed money-maker, we burn to dust whenever we encounter it. Opium.
This means two things happen. One, Afghanistan will always be denied its one potential mode of raising its standard of living (a necessary prerequisite if it’s ever going to become a viable and stable nation). And two, all the money they do make off opium goes straight to the Taliban, because that’s the one regional interest that allows Afghanis the ability to feed themselves.
I haven’t really heard this point discussed this in-depth, but it is certainly an interesting one.
Comment by K_Wright — 10/6/2008 @ 10:55 pm