The United States’ war on drug trafficking goes back a long way, and it extends not only to Latin America but also to Asia. diary washington post During the 20 years of the Afghanistan conflict (2001-2021), not only were bombs dropped on Afghanistan; “Billions” of tiny poppy seedsThese were part of a secret plan to covertly manipulate Afghanistan’s poppy crops from which opium was extracted.
According to the American media outlet, the CIA carried out this “top secret” project off and on for more than 10 years. The plan was to cover Afghan farmers’ fields with plants. modified seeds The germination of a plant that is virtually free of the chemicals used to refine heroin.
This secret program is run by the CIA’s Criminal Drug Center. Poppy seeds improved by air-dropping In the fall of 2004, Afghan farmers began planting crops, which continued with interruptions until 2015. Many aspects of the program remain classified, including the budget allocated to it, the number of flights conducted, and its actual effects on the ground.
For this they used British C-130 aircraftFlying at night to avoid detection over Afghanistan’s vast poppy fields, the heroin helped finance the Taliban’s arsenal and accounted for much of the world’s supply of the drug, much of it destined for Europe or the former Soviet Union.
The seeds used to destroy Afghanistan’s opium crops were not genetically modified and were selected over time, resulting in plants like: Low content of chemical alkaloids Used in the manufacture of heroin. The goal of this CIA program was for plants that germinated from these seeds to be pollinated with native species and eventually become the dominant variety.
According to washington postciting sources close to the program, this anti-drug campaign in Afghanistan “It was a complete failure.” Media outlets blame existing conflicts between government agencies in Washington, friction between the United States and its allies, intermittent support from then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his government, and the roots of poppy cultivation in Afghanistan’s rural areas.
In addition, The Pentagon ‘repeatedly resisted’ The CIA opposed the plan, believing it “diverted attention from its mission to eliminate Islamist terrorists and fight the Taliban.”
“I had a feeling it worked, but as time went on, its effectiveness has decreased. “The effort was in vain,” a former intelligence official told American media, calling the plan a “creative and innovative” idea because it “addressed the problem in a non-kinetic and non-military way.”
However, a 2018 report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which was unaware of the CIA’s covert operations, concluded:There is no anti-drug program carried out by the United States, its coalition partners, or the Afghan government; Achieve sustainable reductions in poppy cultivation and opium production. ”
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