War on Drugs in Afghanistan

1
War on Drugs in Afghanistan
Jessica Kenney Krista Flynt Krista Tuthill
2
Thesis

• The war on drugs in Afghanistan undermines the
  war on terror. Eradication of opium production
  and trade destabilizes the country and undermines
  alliances made to counter terrorism.

3
Transnational Actors

• The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
• NATO
• The World Bank
• Afghanistan, Russia, Britain, and the United
  States

4
Afghanistans historical transformation

• Cold War
• Soviet Invasion and occupation, 1979-1989
• U.S. supports the Mujaheddin, fighting the Soviet
  troops
• Arms input and financial support
• Environment for drug trade

5
Afghanistans historical transformation

• Pre-Soviet economy
• US turns a blind eye to illegal drug trade
• Taliban regime, 1996-2001
• Contributors to drug trade

6
Afghanistans dependence on opium

• Over half (53) of Afghanistans GDP comes from
  the opium trade. 4 bill. in 2007
• It stabilizes economy
• 78 of Afghanis are rural farmers

YouTube video http//youtube.com/watch?vkwyoq6Cr
flQ
7
Why farmers grow poppy

• Quick return on investment
• Poppies require less water
• Poppy crop sells for 30x as much profit as wheat
• Salaam credit system
• Land shortage

8
The case for eradication programs

• Drug war is Talibans most effective recruiter
• Narco-economy may lead to the development of an
  unstable narco-state with deep seated public
  corruption
• Opium production provides the Taliban with an
  estimated 30 to 100 million per year
• Drug trafficking is corrupting the countrys
  government and infrastructure

9
US Government actions in Afghanistan

• Unauthorized dumping of herbicides over
  Afghanistan opium fields
• Plan Afghanistan
• Breakdown of funds
• Aerial eradication vs. manual eradication
• Role of the US military-or lack thereof
• Plan Afghanistans progress today (and looking
  into the future)

10
The case against eradication programs

• President Karzai would lose loyalty from regional
  warlords
• Repressive approach to eradication will result in
  a loss of Afghani support for their government
• Has caused revolts from citizens involved in
  poppy cultivation in the past
• Negative impacts of aerial eradication
• Loss of industry would devastate the economy

11
IR Theories

• Narco-terrorism (and the subsequent failure of a
  realist approach)
• Realism through the eyes of Afghanis vs.
  Americans
• Institutionalists Proposed methods of development

12
Attempted solutions

• British crop substitution
• Expansion of the opium by farmers who pocketed
  the money and continued to produce
• President Hamid Karzai enacted a reduction policy
  against the opium poppy economy
• Provincial leader reaction
• YouTube video http//youtube.com/watch?v5UM8KxKa
  eSw

13
Solutions

• Non-military approach to the war on drugs due to
  interdependence
• Rebuilding of the infrastructure
• Supported crop substitutions
• Funding of alternate livelihoods for opium
  farmers
• Agriculture, irrigation and livestock
• Rural enterprise development
• Rural infrastructure
• Local governance
• Legalization of opium for medicinal use

14
Questions?

• ...to overcome both opium production and
  terrorism in Afghanistan, the government and the
  international community should focus less on
  waging wars on drugs and terrorism and more on
  implementing a broad program of alternative and
  integrated development in the whole country.
  Within this, a multi-level strategy involving
  effective sanctions on illicit and criminal
  activities is critical. Such a program should be
  implemented in a progressive way so as to secure
  sustainable political and territorial stability.
  Long-lasting peace combined with political as
  well as economic development must be achieved if
  Afghanistan is to be successfully rid of its
  illicit drugs economy-war economy nexus (Chouvy).

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Works Cited

• CIA https//www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-
  world-factbook/geos/af.htmlPeople
• Carpenter, Ted G. 2004. "How the Drug War in
  Afghanistan Undermines Americas War on Terror."
  Washington D.C. Cato Institute.
• Koehler, Jan, and Christoph Zuercher. 2007.
  "Statebuilding, Conflict and Narcotics in
  Afghanistan The View from Below." International
  Peacekeeping 14 (1), 62-74.
• New York Times http//www.nytimes.com/2004/12/11/o
  pinion/11ghani.html?pagewanted2_r1oreflogin
• ReliefWeb http//www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db9
  00sid/EGUA-78ZQLE?OpenDocument
• Slate Magazine http//www.slate.com/id/2110987/
• Terrorism Monitor http//www.pa-chouvy.org/terror
  ism-monitor-afghanistan-narcoterrorism.html
• Transnational Institute Drugs and Democracy
  http//www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?pagepolicybr
  iefings_brief10
• US Department of State http//usinfo.state.gov/sa/
  Archive/2006/Jan/31-229671.html
  http//www.state.gov/p/inl/rls/rpt/90561.htm
• The World Bank http//siteresources.worldbank.org/
  SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/223546-1202156192201/463825
  5-1202156207051/summaryAfghanistanOpium2008.pdf
• YouTube http//youtube.com/watch?v_OBlgSz8sSMfea
  turerelated