Foreign Affairs
Related: About this forumNow in power Taliban sets sights on Afghan drug underworld
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) Now the uncontested rulers of Afghanistan, the Taliban have set their sights on stamping out the scourge of narcotics addiction, even if by force.
At nightfall, the battle-hardened fighters-turned-policemen scour the capitals drug-ravaged underworld. Below Kabuls bustling city bridges, amid piles of garbage and streams of filthy water, hundreds of homeless men addicted to heroin and methamphetamines are rounded up, beaten and forcibly taken to treatment centers. The Associated Press gained rare access to one such raid last week.
The scene provided a window into the new order under Taliban governance: The men many with mental illness, according to doctors sat against stone walls with their hands tied. They were told to sober up or face beatings.
The heavy-handed methods are welcomed by some health workers, who have had no choice but to adapt to Taliban rule. We are not in a democracy anymore, this is a dictatorship. And the use of force is the only way to treat these people, said Dr. Fazalrabi Mayar, working in a treatment facility. He was referring specifically to Afghans addicted to heroin and meth.
https://apnews.com/article/business-only-on-ap-taliban-kabul-afghanistan-312374ad26aa5741394b2308bfd99487
Walleye
(30,722 posts)rampartc
(5,264 posts)cynics and ct believers might wonder if that made invasion necessary.
Hugh_Lebowski
(33,643 posts)by selling it at big profits to the rest of the world.
Can't have the locals skimming off the stash. Creates unnecessary overhead.
abqtommy
(14,118 posts)Those are real money-makers for them and from what I understand they need the
money. Unless Pakistan, China and Russia step in to offer financial aid I don't see
The Taliban reforming in any way.
The Jungle 1
(4,552 posts)2018 data shows that every day, 128 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids.
The Afghan people produce over 90% of illicit heroin globally!
The Afghan people used us for 20 years and are cowards who will not fight for themselves. The army stood down in 11 days.
I say break out the herbicides and start flying missions.