Afghan Drug Harvest Increases Under American Hegemony

Afghanistan's poppy plantation over 8,000 tons per year - UN
Kabul, Aug 27, IRNA
Afghanistan-Poppy Plantation Executive Chief of United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention said here Monday during the year 2007 area of lands under poppy plantation in Afghanistan reached 193,000 hectares.
According to IRNA correspondent from Afghanistan's capital city, Kabul, Antonio Mario Costa added at a press conference, "The crops gained from such an area sum up to some 8,200 metric tons." He said that the annual consumption of opium is 4,600 tons, and therefore, the remainder 3,600 tons is an alarm ring for the entire healthy human society.
Costa reiterated, "Poppy plantation has increased 17 percent in Afghanistan year on year, which is thanks to the proper territorial conditions and increased insecurity index in the country." The UN official pointed out that China was the record holder of narcotic drugs production in 19th century, adding, "Production of 8,200 tons of opium annually is not only unprecedented in world history, but also worrying for the mankind." According to him, presently 13 provinces in the north of Afghanistan are clear from poppy plantation, but in five southern and southeaster provinces where security index is very low, three fourths of the narcotics are produced.
He said there is no relation between production of narcotic drugs and poverty in Afghanistan, adding, "On the contrary, there is an inseparable relation between the armed insurgencies and poppy plantation in this country." The Executive Chief of the UN Drug Control & Crime prevention Office added, "The reason why narcotic drugs production has drastically increased in southern parts of Afghanistan is that there is absolutely no government control there, and the insurgents' main financial activity is smuggling and trade of the narcotics." The official referred to the role and support of Taliban group in production of narcotics in Afghanistan, reiterating, "How can we lower the level of addiction to narcotics in the world when there is such a huge amount of over production only in one country?" Mario Costa added, "The poppy farms destroying project has not yielded positive results in Afghanistan, which is why the UN Drug Control & Crime Prevention Office has proposed to Afghan Government to be more serious in its anti-narcotics campaign, and to accelerate the poppy field destroying trend." He said, "We also request the foreign forces in Afghanistan to play their role of destroying the heroin laboratory and fight against international narcotic drug convoys more effectively." The UN official added, "During the course of the last year the demand for opium was at normal level around the globe, and as a whole, the consumption of that substance was lowered compared to the year before." He said that the number of people addicted to opium around the world is 13 million now, but the over production in Afghanistan raises the potential threat for emergence of new markets for that product here and there in the world.
The British occupying forces lead the anti-narcotics campaign in Afghanistan currently, and three million Afghan farmers earn their living through poppy plantation presently.
The UN used to exert heavy pressure against the former Afghan regime led by Taliban to destroy the entire poppy fields, or face severe UN sanctions, but ever since the US led occupation of the country the poppy plantation multiplied year after year there, and the UN threats, too, came to an end.
Iran is paying a heavy price in terms of both border control against narcotic drugs entry, and Iranian police forces have suffered heavy casualties in their fight against international narcotic drug traffickers.
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