08:07 24/06/2010
Vyacheslav Belokrenitsky
By Vyacheslav Belokrenitsky, Deputy Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS)
It is perfectly clear that drugs now pose a serious threat to the world, and Afghanistan is the main origin of this threat.
Afghanistan is the global production center for opium poppy and opiates like heroin and hashish. There has been a significant rise in drug production since the U.S.-led coalition toppled the Taliban in 2001. Illicit drug trafficking in Afghanistan has more than doubled since that time. Although drug production has declined after peaking in 2007, it remains high. Drug traffickers have been relying on the same channels during this entire time.
In order to stabilize the political situation in Afghanistan, the problem of drug trafficking in Afghanistan must be addressed, as most revenues from the drug trade go to the criminal organizations that undermine stability. They can only be defeated by well-organized, long-term and targeted efforts.
Drugs are a serious problem for many countries, particularly Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, where the number of drug addicts has grown to three million. In the last few years, their numbers have also grown in Central Asia, which has become a transit region for drugs destined for Russia. Afghan drugs are smuggled into Europe via Iran and Turkey.
Any strategy to counter the drug threat must involve two elements. The first is to destroy all poppy fields in the country and ensure that they will continue to be destroyed in the future. The second is to seize all drug shipments originating in Afghanistan.
Unfortunately, there are caveats in both cases.
The destruction of crops would require an agricultural transformation in Afghanistan, where roughly three quarters of the population are farmers. Their livelihood largely depends on growing opium poppies. Therefore, eradicating poppy fields would deprive the larger part of the Afghans of a substantial portion of their income.
There are political restrictions as well. The mission of the U.S.-led NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan does not include destroying poppy fields. The fear is that destroying fields would anger the population and turn the south and south-east of Afghanistan into a citadel of resistance. The Americans show no interest in destroying poppy fields, and so the problem remains unresolved.
Of course, it would be preferable, especially for Russia, if measures were taken to help Afghan farmers transition away from opium toward food crops. This would at least give them an incentive to stop growing opium poppies. But efforts in this direction have been very slow and ineffective.
The second front in this struggle – stopping Afghan drug exports – requires international cooperation. The United Nations is working hard to reduce drug exports and to improve interdiction efforts outside Afghanistan. But this is not always enough. It is also necessary to improve border surveillance between Afghanistan and Central Asia (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan). From this point, drugs are then shipped to the Kazakh-Russian border. Border guards and all special services involved in the drug fight should step up their efforts on the border.
For Russia, Afghan drug trafficking is a grave problem, as Viktor Ivanov, head of the Committee on Illegal Drug Trafficking, has said recently. Russia needs and expects help from the West in the fight against this threat. At the recent Moscow international forum on combating the Afghan drug threat, President Dmitry Medvedev suggested developing joint measures toward this end.
Again, these plans should incorporate the UN’s experience, particularly that of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in which Russia plays a key role. The experience of such agencies will help improve the struggle against drug trafficking in each particular case. Currently the majority of countries seize only 15% of drugs at their borders. The groups with a stake in drug trafficking are simply stronger than the forces fighting against them. This is why efforts to counter the drug threat must be consolidated. The UNODC should formulate a common position that all countries (Russia, the United States and the European Union) can sign on to. It should work to coordinate and improve efforts to effectively combat drug trafficking.
Drug Trafficking in Afghanistan
Nicolas Asfouri/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
News about drug trafficking in Afghanistan, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.
Highlights From the Archives
By THOM SHANKER
Several NATO members say their laws do not permit soldiers to participate in efforts to stem the drug trade.
December 23, 2008worldNews By THOMAS SCHWEICH
Drug-related corruption pervades the government in Afghanistan, a former U.S. counternarcotics official says.
July 27, 2008magazineNews By JAMES RISEN
Until recently, U.S. officials admit, fighting drugs was considered a distraction from fighting terrorists.
May 16, 2007worldNews By ELIZABETH RUBIN
A journey through the tribal borderlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where drug smuggling, anger at warlords and age-old resentments could be preparing the way for a restoration of the radicals.
October 22, 2006magazineNews By AMY WALDMAN
Rahmatullah trudged toward his village with his donkey, as men across Afghanistan have done for centuries. But in this century, men in Jeeps and on motorbikes were passing him by. So this year Rahmatullah said he would join his neighbors in growing poppies to harvest Afghanistan's most lucrative cash crop, opium.
April 10, 2004worldNewsBy TIM GOLDEN
From the first days of the war in Afghanistan, United States officials have pointed to a dangerous weapon in the desolate Afghan countryside: the poppy fields that have spread over thousands of acres in recent years, turning the nation into by far the largest source of opium and heroin in the world.
November 25, 2001weekinreviewNewsBy BARRY BEARAK
In heroin's great heartland, the fields are empty of their most profitable plant. The ruling Taliban banned the growing of poppies as a sin against the teachings of Islam.
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