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Afghanistan's Drug Culture, A Way Forward

Nasir Shansab - 3/10/2009

The phenomenal growth of Afghanistan's opium production over the past seven years is a sign of the monumental failure of the Karzai government.
Some of us may have forgotten that in 2001, poppy cultivation in Afghanistan had been eradicated. Whether the Taliban terminated cultivation to keep the price of opium from hitting the floor for reasons of overproduction the year before or simply wanted to be in the good graces of the international community is, at this time, unimportant.

What is important is the fact that Mr. Karzai took over a country that was free of poppy farming. What is also important to note is that
Afghanistan today, seven years into the Karzai regime, produces 90% of the global opium production, and the trade with narcotics constitutes 40
to 60% of Afghanistan's economy. While drug kingpins and warlords have essentially taken over the country, President Karzai is, at best, reduced to a figurehead or is part and parcel of the narco-system that has emerged over the past seven years.

Be that as it may, the lack of economic progress, the lawlessness and endemic corruption are consequences of Mr. Karzai's incompetence and the drug culture that is holding the country in its grip. Whether the swelling illicit drug trade has triggered Karzai's failure or the government's corruption and lawlessness have set off the illicit drug trade seems to be a chicken-and-egg question. It is certain that they are intertwined and feeding on each other. Afghanistan is on the brink of being lost to the insurgency. Things cannot continue as they have over the past seven years.

o avoid a calamity, the United States and its allies must change their approach. They must act decisively and swiftly. The fact that some 70% of the country has fallen under Taliban control and the holding of national elections have been rendered impossible, provides an opportunity to give Mr. Karzai a graceful exit and install an interim government for a predetermined period.

The choice of government ministers, other high-ranking officials, and judges must be made with extreme care. Education, work experience, management ability, and moral strength must be the guiding principles in the choices.

The present system of parceling out government positions to warlords and their families must be abandoned. The choice must fall on people who
consider a government position as an opportunity to serve, not as a position to improve their personal financial wellbeing.

The interim government, with international support could then implement the changes that are urgently required to bring peace to Afghanistan.
The changes must have military, political, and economic elements. There already is a measure of consensus on the military component.
President Obama has taken the first step by authorizing the deployment of another 17,000 troops, with more to be deployed later.


The political and economic changes must come from the Afghans themselves, and the interim government must be tasked to do the following:

1) Trim the bloated government. A smaller administration would operate more efficiently and cost less.

2) Clean up the executive, with special emphasis on the judiciary and the police.

3) Together with U.S. and NATO forces, re-establish security.

4) Begin in earnest the fight against poppy cultivation. To succeed, this step must be fully and sincerely be supported by the international community, especially the neighboring countries, and the consumer nations. For example, a regional drug enforcement agency could be formed and consumer nations and rich Arab countries could support with funding.

5) Work closely with donor nations to better plan, coordinate, and execute economic reconstruction with the aim of creating well-paying jobs. Reconstruction must breathe hope for a better future in people's minds.

6) Modernize school curricula and widen access to education.

7) Rewrite the constitution and draft new civil and penal codes. The body of new laws must be firmly anchored in modern legal concepts and reflect the ethical and social values of the 21^st . Century.

8) By the end of its tenure, the interim government must have prepared the ground for national and provincial elections. A concentrated effort must have been completed to make the Afghan people understand how important it is that they participate in the effort as free individuals, freely expressing their own choice.

It is now clear that the opportunity to rebuild Afghanistan has been squandered. With a new administration in place in Washington and President Obama's decision to change U.S. policy toward the region, the international community has another opening and the Afghans a second-perhaps a last-chance to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.