Mithxor on Nostr: The US flip-flopped several times on the issue of opium production. Initially it was ...

The US flip-flopped several times on the issue of opium production. Initially it was ignored because it was not part of the mission and there wasn't much that the limited military force could do about it. In the late 00's, as the Iraq surge drew down and a significantly larger force was allocated to AF, the fields were burned. This required large scale coordination and was seen as a training opportunity to "build the capability" of Afghan National Army, Afghan National Police and Afghan Boarder Police. By 13'-14', when I acquired my first hand experience with this, the US military was instructed not to interfere with how the ANA/ANP conducted drug interdiction. Under the ANA/ANPs management the poppy production ramped up. Due to systemic corruption an ANA or ANP unit would receive <20% of the funds allocated to them so they would make up what they could through many accepted criminal activities (drug trade, theft, extortion, human trafficking). I dont give much merit to the idea that it was a driver for the initial invasion but it was certainly used as a tool to control the people and government. Nor do I have any specific knowledge after ~2016.