Why does the United States patrol poppy fields in Afghanistan?

I've done a bit of research on the issue and i've gathered that opium production has skyrocketed since US occupation and that the US likely has some role in this, but i'm having trouble ascertaining the exact reason why (the ostensible reason and whatever ulterior motives may exist, since there's obviously something shady about it). Can anyone help clarify this for me? Sources would be great too!

Thanks!

 

It is true that US occupation has driven matters skyward but the fine facts and details, I do not know.

 

You need to do some more research. I would be happy to help. Ask questions!

 

Key Findings

ƒ The total area under opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan in 2012 was estimated at
154,000 hectares, a 18% increase from the previous year.
ƒ The vast majority (95%) of opium cultivation took place in nine provinces in
Afghanistan’s Southern and Western regions, which include the country’s most insecure
provinces. In mirroring the polarization in the security situation between the lawless south
and the relatively stable north of the country, this confirms the link between security and
opium cultivation observed in previous years.
ƒ Hilmand remained Afghanistan’s major opium-cultivating province, followed by Farah,
Kandahar, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Nangarhar, Badghis, Badakhshan, Kunar, Day Kundi, Hirat,
Laghman, Zabul, Kapisa, Ghor and Kabul.
ƒ Opium cultivation increased in most of the main poppy-cultivating provinces, including
in Hilmand itself (19%). However, relatively less poppy was cultivated inside the
Hilmand “Food Zone”, where agricultural support programmes are implemented, than in
the rest of the province.
ƒ Based on preliminary results from other countries, opium cultivation in Afghanistan
represented 64% of global cultivation in 2012.
ƒ Total eradication of opium poppy increased by 154% in 2012 due to an increase in
Governor-led eradication (GLE) in all regions, which accounted for 9,672 hectares.
ƒ Even though the area eradicated was the equivalent of less than 6.5 % of the total area
under opium cultivation, with a total of 102 fatalities and 127 injured, the human cost of
the eradication campaign was far higher in 2012 than in the preceding year.
ƒ Average opium yield amounted to 23.7 kilograms per hectare in 2012, which is 47% less
than in 2011 (44.5 kilograms per hectare). This was due to a combination of a disease of
the opium poppy and adverse weather conditions, particularly in the Eastern, Western and
Southern regions of the country.
ƒ Potential opium production was estimated at 3,700 tons in 2012. While a 36% decrease
from the previous year, based on preliminary results for some countries and regions, this
figure represented 74% of global potential production.
ƒ The opium yield and production estimates of the years 2006 to 2009 were revised
downward after a careful review revealed data quality problems which had led to an
overestimation of the per-hectare yield.
ƒ Accounting for 69% of national production, the Southern region continued to produce the
vast majority of opium in Afghanistan in 2012. The Western region was the country’s
second most important opium-producing region, with 23% of national production.
ƒ At US$ 0.73 billion, or the equivalent of roughly 4% of the country’s estimated GDP, the
farm-gate value of opium production in 2012 fell by 49%.
ƒ The gross export value of opium and heroin/morphine exports in 2012 was US$ 2.0
billion (US$ 2.6 billion in 2011). The net export value of Afghan opiates in 2012 was
US$ 1.94 billion. Far smaller, the gross value of the domestic market for the drugs was
estimated to be US$ 0.16 billion.
ƒ A comparison of these gross and net values with the licit 2012 GDP of Afghanistan (US$
18.95 billion) shows the magnitude of the Afghan opium economy. In 2012, net opium
exports were worth some 10% of licit GDP, while the farm-gate value of the opium
needed to produce those exports alone was equivalent to 4% of licit GDP. The net value
of the domestic market for opiates is small by comparison, but still worth approximately
1% of licit GDP. http://www.unodc.org/documents/crop-monitoring/Afghanistan/Afghanistan_OS_2012_FINAL_web.pdf

 

I don't really have an answer, but this topic is interesting to me. I just finished reading an npr article about how drug use has sky rocketed in Afghanistan in the last few years. They have always traditionally been producers but now they are also consumers. Poor Afghanis.

I do know, from a friend who did some work as a civilian contractor in Afghanistan, that opium patrol is mostly political. When the Taliban was in charge they destroyed poppy fields indiscriminately. The united states only destroys them when it is not beneficial to let them remain. For example, if US forces need the support of a certain tribal leader they will leave their fields intact to avoid tarnishing their relationship.

 

Yup.

 

poppy seeds are a staple food. Its going to get ya high regardless.

 

This is not true.

 

Ok, well that can be true in your little world where you get to quote lame stream hysterically as if it's both gospel and a safety belt - other people would find that the epitome of naive or river of denial. Either way, you really can't berate people into being stupid on purpose with this one.

 

Evidence. An argument for. Lets have it.

 

As far as I am aware, they do not.
They do operations through poppy fields.
There are some pictures of troops walking through poppy fields:



And an argument about why the coalition/Afghan government is not burning everything in sight...but patrolling them to protect them? Not true.

 

America’s war on drugs is failing in Afghanistan, with opium production at record levels, despite spending $7.5 billion to tackle the problem. Over 200 thousand hectares is used to grow opium, an increase of 36 percent, according to a US report.

Attempts to limit production and seize heroin have not been helped due to a downscaling of operations by the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force). In 2013, coalition forces managed to seize 41,000 kilograms of opium out of the 5.5 million kilograms produced in Afghanistan.

http://rt.com/news/156128-afghanistan-drugs-usa-heroin/

 

Nothing beyond live bodies of opium loving soldiers who came back and related personal stories of actually being there and the person who said that it is politically based was just exactly right. That's all.
I myself believe it to be a lot more than that, but soldiers neither see nor typically speculate big picture finance and population management beyond theory.

 

'opium loving soldiers ' what are you talking about?
'it is politically based was just exactly right' what are you talking about?
'soldiers neither see nor typically speculate big picture finance and population management beyond theory' what are you talking about?

How about sticking to the point, and making some sense - not vagueness :/

 

Oh and drops in a bucket to fool morons doesn't mean much but lip service. Main stream lip service is the opposite typically of comparative fact. There's more heroin now than ever. Curious laid up against your sophmorish clinging to the puppet media as fact or even a close version of simple truth.

Now you will launch into another of your "well then everyone is lying but the paper" pathetic page long bleats of glorified utterly phony "debate". You're a money leaking meat sack. I work in the meat sack repair garage. I get loads more "truth" than you ever will when it comes to what soldiers say. They aren't liers. You're a thrushy child.

 

See my earlier post. Point is: Do United States (soldiers) patrol poppy fields in Afghanistan? (I presume to protect them) If not, that point needs to be made by the OP.

 

It already has. You're just attempting your usual stonewall which has gotten so passe' for so many you'll have to lure new people in to play.

 

? confused :/

 

Ok, sorry for getting back so late about this. First off, I'm not claiming to be an expert on this issue. I asked because I'm confused and finding lots of contradictory information.

The reason for my suspicion that the US has been complicit in the spike in opium production is first of all the result of massive evidence of past US involvement in the drug trade in many countries (i.e. I wouldn't put it past them), especially in Afghanistan during Soviet occupation. I strongly doubt that the correspondence of the enormous spike in opium production with the United States occupation of Afghanistan is entirely coincidental. But as far as the details go, I am quite confused...especially when it comes to the Taliban's shifting positions on opium production, as they seem to go back and forth between supporting cultivation (for funding) and cracking down on it.

So ostensibly, are US troops protecting opium growers from Taliban crackdown on opium or Taliban exploitation of the opium crop (I've heard both)?

And either way, how does that fit in with the war on opium that's purportedly being waged over there (I've heard of opium growers being protected and other reports of opium crop being destroyed)?

I couldn't find much information on the politics of it outside of 3 or 4 news articles and a bunch of speculation on blog posts.

I'm not jumping to conclusions about ulterior motives behind patrols in opium fields, but the enormous spike in opium production (despite a costly "war on opium") combined with US activity in opium fields and a rather poor US track record on this kind of stuff leaves some room for healthy suspicion, especially when the info about it is sparse.