Afghanistan. U.S. Bombing of Drug Labs in Afghanistan Is Counterproductive to Fighting the Taliban
Afghanistan. U.S. Bombing of Drug Labs in Afghanistan Is Counterproductive to Fighting the Taliban
(...) The bombing campaign, however, is an ineffective counter-narcotics approach and won’t advance a counterterrorism strategy. Not only is it based on misguided notions of how much the Taliban benefits from or depends on poppy cultivation to fund its insurgency, the operations also do not address the underlying problems that fuel the opium trade. Instead, the U.S. is likely to undermine the fight against the Taliban. The strikes against drug labs eliminate the only source of income for many local residents without providing a replacement, and they foster even greater resentment of the foreign military presence and the already unpopular central government. (justsecurity.org, USA, 06.09.2018)