Afghanistan's Opium

To whom it may concern,

It is widely known that the primary funding source for the Taliban and associated Al Qaeda networks is the opium trade. Afghanistan counts for nearly 90 percent of all poppy production on the planet, making it the cash crop for local farmers. The revenue of the opium extracted from these poppies and later processed into heroin far exceeds that of any other cash crop that is currently being offered as an alternative. Replacing the poppy fields of Afghanistan is unreasonable. Destroying these poppy fields decimates the livelihoods of the Afghan people. The best solution is for the international community to buy all of this poppy directly from these farmers. It has been estimated that this could be done for about $6 billion annually. That is a pittance compared to what the Afghanistan war currently costs Coalition forces. And it would eliminate the funding stream for the extremist rebels that we continue to fight 7 years after the initial invasion. Not to mention that it would effectively end heroin production across the globe. This opium could instead be processed into legal morphine and other pain killers for legitimate medicinal purposes. So, why do we insist on either destroying or converting these fields? Instead of having the Afghan people dependent on terrorists for their livelihoods, they could be dependent on the world market. This would elevate Afghanistan out of obscurity and begin a process of economic and social renewal. Is this being considered under the new Afghanistan strategy?

GUNNAR HAND, AICP