RC N Watch: Im Norden sind die Drogen besser

Eine interessante Lesegeschichte zum Sonntag (auch wenn sie schon ein paar Wochen alt ist): Die Taliban profitieren zunehmend von Drogenanbau und -vermarktung in Afghanistan. Und kooperieren dabei auch mit ihren alten Feinden, den früheren (?) Machthabern der Nordallianz:

In fact, part of the Taliban’s success in the drug trade has been fueled by a rapprochement of convenience with their longtime mortal enemies: former members of the Northern Alliance. (…)  Today, while some of these former Northern Alliance officials are fighting the drug trade, others are abetting and profiting from it. And gradually over the past few years, despite the bad blood between them, the Taliban and former Northern Alliance members have realized that if they put aside their political differences and work together, they can dramatically ramp up their drug profits.

heißt es in der Newsweek-Story The Taliban’s Life of Luxury.

Da Afghanistan unverändert Opium-Weltmeister ist, wäre es ja auch erstaunlich, wenn der Norden des Landes daran keinen Anteil hätte. Zumal, auch das steht in der Geschichte, die Qualität im Norden besser ist.

(Foto: BALA BALUK, Afghanistan–Opium fields ready for harvesting are the target of poppy eradication by Afghan National Security Forces in Bala Baluk district on April 15, 2009. Tractors plow up poppy fields to prevent farmers from harvesting their opium crop – ISAF Photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Monica R. Nelson via Flickr unter CC-BY-Lizenz)