Abstract
Mainstream commentary suggests that the United States and NATO are conducting a war on drugs in Afghanistan in order to reduce drug consumption in the West and Afghanistan and weaken the Taliban. Interpreting U.S. foreign policy from a critical political economic perspective, this article presents an alternative analysis, arguing thatWashington and NATO are not pursuing a real war on drugs in Afghanistan. This point is demonstrated by examining a number of aspects of the so-called war on drugs: the Taliban's relatively small role in drug trafficking; U.S./NATO support for proxy forces involved in the drug trade; the focus on poppy cultivation over drug money; the chemical precursor trade; money laundering; Western support for tobacco and alcohol industries; and the emphasis on overseas operations and enforcement and neglect of drug treatment and prevention. In each case, U.S./NATO policies directly support or tolerate the drug trade—the opposite of what a real war on drugs would entail. It is therefore suggested that the so-called war on drugs is better seen as a rhetorical device used by the U.S. to facilitate overseas military intervention and the fight against insurgents opposed to U.S. policies in Afghanistan.
Acknowledgments:
The author would like to thank Jonathan Caulkins, Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy, David Mansfield, and Ethan Nadelmann for comments and discussions on this article.
Notes
1. However, total opium production in 2010 is estimated at 3,600 metric tons, a 48 percent decrease from 2009, due in part to diseases that affected opium fields: Unodc 2010 (Survey), 7. Unodc 2010 (Report), 37. On the importance of narcotics to the Afghan economy, see Ward and Byrd Citation2004.
2. U.S. Department of State Citation2010, 104. Unodc 2010 (Report), 41–42.
5. The hawala system is an informal financial transfer system used in Afghanistan in parallel with the formal banking sector. The hawala system handles financial transfers, currency exchange, and often, drug money. Under the Taliban regime (1996–2001), the hawala markets fully replaced the formal banking sector. See Thompson Citation2006.
6. Cited in U.S. Senate, Caucus on International Narcotics Control Citation2010, 23.
17. Ibid. 459. For an argument similar to this article's on Nixon's drug war, see Kuzmarov Citation2009.
18. Those secretive forces may even have been responsible for orchestrating events like 9/11, according to Scott, who writes: “As I shall argue, America's major foreign wars are typically preceded by deep events like the Tonkin Gulf incidents, 9/11, or the 2001 anthrax attacks. This suggests that what I call the war machine in Washington (including but not restricted to elements in the Pentagon and the CIA) may have been behind them.” Scott Citation2010 (War), 4; see also Scott Citation2003 (CIA); Scott Citation2010 (War); Scott Citation2007; Scott Citation2010 (Kyrgyzstan); Scott Citation2010 (Triumph); Scott Citation2009.
20. Scott Citation2003 (Drugs), 28, 33. See also similar comments in Scott Citation2010 (War), 237, 232–33. Michel Chossudovsky argues a similar point. See Chossudovsky Citation2004.
25. Unodc 2009 (Addiction), 113–14.
29. Interview by the author, 2 November 2009.
30. For an excellent account of the structure of the Afghan drug industry, see Shaw Citation2006.
31. Unodc 2009 (Addiction), 3.
34. There are, obviously, other domestic and local factors, but nevertheless,Western intervention has acted as an important stimulus.
38. Peters Citation2009 (Seeds), 202; embassy official quoted on p. 193.
43. Unodc 2009 (Addiction), 106.
44. Unodc 2010 (Cannabis), 36.
46. See for instance Unodc 2009 (Addiction).
47. Ibid.75; see also U.S. Department of State Citation2010, 79, which reaches similar conclusions.
50. Author's calculations from data reported in Unodc 2009 (Addiction).
52. Unodc 2009 (Addiction), 7; Reuters Citation2009; Unodc 2009 (Report), 3 (emphasis in original). See also Reuter and Truman Citation2004.
55. Unodc 2009 (Addiction), 9.
56. WHO 2002; WHO 2008; WHO 2009; WHO n.d.
58. Shaffer, Brenner, and Houston Citation2005, 14: ii19–ii25, ii24; the Philip Morris quote is from the text of a discussion document used at a top management meeting, 29 March 1985, quoted on p. ii23. See also McKee Citation2009; Zeigler Citation2006, 25.
61. “Thai–EU FTA talks stuck over alcohol, tobacco,” The Nation (Bangkok), 16 September 2010; Arunmas Citation2010.
63. Babor et al. Citation2010, 255, 254. Nevertheless some good accounts illustrate what drug control in Afghanistan could look like. See, for example Caulkins, Kleiman, and Kulick Citation2010; Jelsma and Kramer Citation2009; Mansfield and Pain Citation2008.
66. For more on the war on drugs as a form of social control, see, for example, footnote 13.
70. U.S. Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors Office of Inspector General Citation2009, 22.
Ward
,
Christopher
and
Byrd
,
William
.
December
2004
.
Afghanistan's opium drug economy
,
December
,
Washington, D.C
:
World Bank
.
Clarke
,
Robert
.
2010
.
Hashish!
,
2
,
Los Angeles
:
Red Eye Press
.
Davids
,
Douglas J.
2002
.
Narco terrorism: A unified strategy to fight a growing terrorist menace
,
Ardsley, N.Y.
:
Transnational Publishers
.
Ehrenfeld
,
Rachel
.
2005
.
Funding evil: How terrorism is financed—and how to stop it
,
Edited by:
Expanded
.
Chicago and Los Angeles
:
Bonus Books
.
Peters
,
Gretchen
.
2009
.
Seeds of terror: How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda
,
New York
:
St. Martin's Press
.
Seeds
Peters
,
Gretchen
.
2009
.
Seeds of terror: How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda
,
New York
:
St. Martin's Press
.
Seeds
U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations
.
10 August
2009
.
Afghanistan's narco war: Breaking the link between drug traffickers and insurgents
,
10 August
,
Washington, D.C
:
GPO
.
Thompson
,
Edwina
.
2006
.
“
The nexus of drug trafficking and hawala in Afghanistan
”
. In
Afghanistan's drug industry
,
Edited by:
Buddenberg
,
Doris
and
Byrd
,
William
.
155
–
88
.
Vien: Unodc; Washington, D.C.
:
World Bank
.
U.S. Senate, Caucus on International Narcotics Control
.
2010
.
U.S. counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan. July. drugcaucus.senate.gov (accessed 2 March 2011)
Peters
,
Gretchen
.
2009
.
Seeds of terror: How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda
,
New York
:
St. Martin's Press
.
Seeds
Peters
,
Gretchen
.
2009
.
Seeds of terror: How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda
,
New York
:
St. Martin's Press
.
Seeds
Draper
,
Robert
.
2011
.
Opium wars. Photographs by David Guttenfelder
.
National Geographic Magazine
,
219
(
2
)
:
58
–
83
.
Schweich
,
Thomas
.
2008
.
Is Afghanistan a narco-state?
.
New York Times Magazine
,
27 July
Felbab-Brown
,
Vanda
.
2010
.
Shooting up: Counterinsurgency and the war on drugs
,
Washington, D.C.
:
Brookings Institution Press
.
Chien
,
Arnold
,
Connors
,
Margaret
and
Fox
,
Kenneth
.
2000
.
“
The drug war in perspective
”
. In
Dying for growth
,
Edited by:
Jim
,
Yong Kim
.
293
–
327
.
Monroe, Me
:
Common Courage
.
Chomsky
,
Noam
.
1992
.
Deterring democracy
,
107
–
38
.
New York
:
Hill and Wang
.
Chomsky
,
Noam
.
2000
.
Rogue states: The rule of force in world affairs
,
Cambridge, Mass
:
South End Press
.
Stokes
,
Doug
.
2005
.
America's other war: Terrorizing Colombia
,
London
:
Zed Books
.
Block
,
Fred
.
1980
.
Economic instability and military strength: The paradoxes of the 1950 rearmament decision
.
Politics & Society
,
10
(
1
)
:
35
–
58
.
McMahon
,
Robert
.
1991
.
Credibility and world power: Exploring the psychological dimension in postwar American diplomacy
.
Diplomatic History
,
15
(
4
)
:
455
–
71
.
Chomsky
,
Noam
.
1989
.
Necessary illusions
,
Cambridge, Mass
:
South End Press
.
McCoy
,
Alfred
.
2004
.
“
The stimulus of prohibition: A critical history of the global narcotics trade
”
. In
Dangerous harvest: Drug plants and the transformation of indigenous landscapes
,
Edited by:
Steinberg
,
Michael K.
,
Hobbs
,
Joseph J.
and
Mathewson
,
Kent
.
24
–
114
.
Oxford
:
Oxford University Press
.
McCoy
,
Alfred
.
2003
.
The politics of heroin: CIA complicity in the global drug trade
,
Chicago
:
Lawrence Hill Books
.
Rev
McCoy
,
Alfred
.
2000
.
From free trade to prohibition: A critical history of the modern Asian opium trade
.
Fordham Urban Law Journal
,
28
:
307
–
49
.
McCoy
,
Alfred
.
1992
.
“
Heroin as a global commodity: A history of southeast Asia's opium trade
”
. In
War on drugs: Studies in the failure of U.S. narcotics policy
,
Edited by:
McCoy
,
Alfred W.
and
Block
,
Alan A.
237
–
79
.
Boulder
:
Westview Press
.
McCoy
,
Alfred
.
2003
.
The politics of heroin: CIA complicity in the global drug trade
,
Chicago
:
Lawrence Hill Books
.
Rev
Kuzmarov
,
Jeremy
.
2009
.
The myth of the addicted army
,
Amherst
:
University of Massachusetts Press
.
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2010
.
Kyrgyzstan, the U.S. and the global drug problem: Deep forces and the syndrome of coups, drugs, and terror
.
The Asia-Pacific Journal
,
28
(
3
)
12 July
Kyrgyzstan www.japanfocus.org/-Peter_Dale-Scott/3384 (accessed 2 March 2011)
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2003
.
The CIA's secret powers
.
Critical Asian Studies
,
35
(
2
)
:
233
–
58
.
CIA
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2010
.
Kyrgyzstan, the U.S. and the global drug problem: Deep forces and the syndrome of coups, drugs, and terror
.
The Asia-Pacific Journal
,
28
(
3
)
12 July
Kyrgyzstan www.japanfocus.org/-Peter_Dale-Scott/3384 (accessed 2 March 2011)
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2007
.
The road to 9/11: Wealth, empire, and the future of America
,
Berkeley and Los Angeles
:
University of California Press
.
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2010
.
Kyrgyzstan, the U.S. and the global drug problem: Deep forces and the syndrome of coups, drugs, and terror
.
The Asia-Pacific Journal
,
28
(
3
)
12 July
Kyrgyzstan www.japanfocus.org/-Peter_Dale-Scott/3384 (accessed 2 March 2011)
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2010
.
Kyrgyzstan, the U.S. and the global drug problem: Deep forces and the syndrome of coups, drugs, and terror
.
The Asia-Pacific Journal
,
28
(
3
)
12 July
Kyrgyzstan www.japanfocus.org/-Peter_Dale-Scott/3384 (accessed 2 March 2011)
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2009
.
America's Afghanistan: The national security and a heroin-ravaged state
.
The Asia-Pacific Journal
,
20
(
3
)
17 May
www.japanfocus.org/-Peter_Dale-Scott/3145 (accessed 2 March 2011)
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2010
.
Kyrgyzstan, the U.S. and the global drug problem: Deep forces and the syndrome of coups, drugs, and terror
.
The Asia-Pacific Journal
,
28
(
3
)
12 July
Kyrgyzstan www.japanfocus.org/-Peter_Dale-Scott/3384 (accessed 2 March 2011)
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2003
.
The CIA's secret powers
.
Critical Asian Studies
,
35
(
2
)
:
233
–
58
.
CIA
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2010
.
Kyrgyzstan, the U.S. and the global drug problem: Deep forces and the syndrome of coups, drugs, and terror
.
The Asia-Pacific Journal
,
28
(
3
)
12 July
Kyrgyzstan www.japanfocus.org/-Peter_Dale-Scott/3384 (accessed 2 March 2011)
Scott
,
Peter Dale
.
2003
.
The CIA's secret powers
.
Critical Asian Studies
,
35
(
2
)
:
233
–
58
.
CIA
Brzezinski
,
Zbigniew
.
1998
.
The grand chessboard
,
New York
:
Basic Books
.
Kolhatkar
,
Sonali
and
Ingalls
,
James
.
2006
.
Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, warlords, and the propaganda of silence
,
Cambridge, Mass
:
South End Press
.
Klare
,
Michael
.
2008
.
Rising powers, shrinking planet: The new geopolitics of energy
,
New York
:
Metropolitan Books
.
Macdonald
,
David
.
2007
.
Drugs in Afghanistan: Opium, outlaws and scorpion tales
,
London
:
Pluto
.
Chouvy
,
Pierre-Arnaud
.
2009
.
Opium: Uncovering the politics of the poppy
,
London
:
I.B. Tauris
.
Peters
,
Gretchen
.
2009
.
Seeds of terror: How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda
,
New York
:
St. Martin's Press
.
Seeds
Shaw
,
Mark
.
2006
.
“
Drug trafficking and the development of organized crime in post-Taliban Afghanistan
”
. In
Afghanistan's drug industry
,
Edited by:
Buddenberg
,
Doris
and
Byrd
,
William
.
189
–
214
.
Geneva: Unodc; Washington, D.C.
:
World Bank
.
Peters
,
Gretchen
.
2009
.
Seeds of terror: How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda
,
New York
:
St. Martin's Press
.
Seeds
Mansfield
,
David
.
1 May
2010
.
Where have all the flowers gone? Assessing the sustainability of current reductions in opium production in Afghanistan
,
1 May
,
Kabul
:
AREU
.
Chandra
,
Vishal
.
2006
.
Warlords, drugs and the “War on Terror” in Afghanistan: The paradoxes
.
Strategic Analysis
,
30
(
1
)
January–March
:
64
–
92
.
Corti
,
Daniela
and
Swain
,
Ashok
.
2009
.
War on drugs and war on terror: Case of Afghanistan
.
Peace& Conflict Review
,
3
(
2
)
Spring
:
41
–
53
.
Rashid
,
Ahmed
.
2008
.
Descent into chaos
,
London
:
Allen Lane
.
Rubin
,
Barnett
.
2004
.
Afghanistan's fatal addiction
.
International Herald Tribune
,
28 October
Cockburn
,
Alexander
and
St. Clair
,
Jeffrey
.
1998
.
Whiteout: The CIA, drugs and the press
,
London
:
Verso
.
McCoy
,
Alfred
.
2003
.
The politics of heroin: CIA complicity in the global drug trade
,
Chicago
:
Lawrence Hill Books
.
Rev
Scott
,
Peter Dale
and
Marshall
,
Jonathan
.
1998
.
Cocaine politics
,
Berkeley and Los Angeles
:
University of California Press
.
U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations
.
10 August
2009
.
Afghanistan's narco war: Breaking the link between drug traffickers and insurgents
,
10 August
,
Washington, D.C
:
GPO
.
GAO
.
March
2010
.
Afghanistan drug control
,
March
,
Washington, D.C
:
U.S. Government Accountability Office
.
Peters
,
Gretchen
.
2009
.
Seeds of terror: How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda
,
New York
:
St. Martin's Press
.
Seeds
Rashid
,
Ahmed
.
2008
.
Descent into chaos
,
London
:
Allen Lane
.
Risen
,
James
.
2007
.
Poppy fields are now a front line in Afghanistan's war
.
New York Times
,
16 May
Pennington
,
Matthew
.
2007
.
Afghan anti-corruption chief is a convicted heroin trafficker
.
Associated Press
,
9 March
Rubin
,
Elizabeth
.
2009
.
Karzai in his labyrinth
.
New York Times
,
4 August
Filkins
,
Dexter
,
Mazzetti
,
Mark
and
Risen
,
James
.
2009
.
Brother of Afghan leader said to be paid by CIA
.
New York Times
,
27 October
Risen
,
James
.
2008
.
Reports link Karzai's brother to Afghanistan heroin trade
.
New York Times
,
4 October
Sherman
,
Jake
and
DiDomenico
,
Victoria
.
September
2009
.
The public cost of private security
,
September
,
Center on International Cooperation, New York University
.
2009
Wilder
,
Andrew
.
2005
.
A House divided? Analysing the 2005 Afghan elections
,
Kabul
:
AREU
.
Unodc (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
.
2008
.
Afghanistan opium survey 2008
,
Vienna
:
Unodc
.
INCB
.
2010
.
Precursors and chemicals frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances 2009
,
New York
:
United Nations Publication
.
Peters
,
Gretchen
.
2009
.
Seeds of terror: How heroin is bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda
,
New York
:
St. Martin's Press
.
Seeds
Reuters
.
2009
.
25 January
UN crime chief says drug money flowed into banks
Reuter
,
Peter
and
Truman
,
Edwin
.
2004
.
Chasing dirty money
,
Washington, D.C.
:
Institute for International Economics
.
Morley
,
Jefferson
.
1989
.
Contradictions of cocaine capitalism
.
The Nation
,
2 October
:
341
–
47
.
Cooley
,
John
.
2002
.
Unholy wars
,
3
,
London
:
Pluto
.
Scott
,
Peter Dale
and
Marshall
,
Jonathan
.
1998
.
Cocaine politics
,
Berkeley and Los Angeles
:
University of California Press
.
Shaffer
,
E. R.
,
Brenner
,
J. E.
and
Houston
,
T. P.
2005
.
International trade agreements: A threat to tobacco control policy
.
Tobacco Control
,
14
:
ii19
–
ii25
.
Gilmore
,
Anna
,
Fooks
,
Gary
and
McKee
,
Martin
.
2009
.
The International Monetary Fund and tobacco: A product like any other?
.
International Journal of Health Services
,
39
(
4
)
:
789
–
93
.
Zeigler
,
Donald
.
2006
.
International trade agreements challenge tobacco and alcohol control policies
.
Drug and Alcohol Review
,
25
November
:
567
–
79
.
Gilmore
,
Anna
,
Fooks
,
Gary
and
McKee
,
Martin
.
2009
.
The International Monetary Fund and tobacco: A product like any other?
.
International Journal of Health Services
,
39
(
4
)
:
789
–
93
.
Smith
,
Katherine E.
2010
.
“Working the system.” British American Tobacco's influence on the European Union treaty and its implications for policy: An analysis of internal tobacco industry documents
.
PLoS Medicine
,
7
(
1
)
January
:
1
–
17
.
Arunmas
,
Phusadee
.
2010
.
Activists boycott hearings
.
Bangkok Post
,
30 September
Rydell
,
Peter
and
Everingham
,
Susan S.
1994
.
Controlling cocaine: Supply versus demand programs
,
Santa Monica, Calif
:
RAND
.
Babor
,
Thomas
.
2010
.
Drug policy and the public good
,
Oxford
:
Oxford University Press
.
Caulkins
,
Jonathan
,
Kleiman
,
Mark
and
Kulick
,
Jonathan
.
June
2010
.
Drug production and trafficking, counterdrug policies, and security and governance in Afghanistan
,
June
,
New York
:
New York University, Center on International Cooperation
.
Jelsma
,
Martin
and
Kramer
,
Tom
.
December
2009
.
“
Redefining targets: Towards a realistic Afghan drug control strategy
”
. In
Drug Policy Briefing
,
December
,
30
Amsterdam
:
Transnational Institute
.
Mansfield
,
David
and
Pain
,
Adam
.
2008
.
Counter-narcotics in Afghanistan: The failure of success?
,
Kabul
:
AREU
.
Hedrich
,
Dagmar
,
Pirona
,
Alessandro
and
Wiessing
,
Lucas
.
2008
.
From margin to mainstream: The evolution of harm reduction responses to problem drug use in Europe
.
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy
,
15
(
6
)
December
:
503
–
17
.
Reuter
,
Peter
and
Stevens
,
Alex
.
2008
.
Assessing UK drug policy from a crime control perspective
.
Criminology and Criminal Justice
,
8
(
4
)
:
461
–
82
.
U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations
.
10 August
2009
.
Afghanistan's narco war: Breaking the link between drug traffickers and insurgents
,
10 August
,
Washington, D.C
:
GPO
.
Filkins
,
Dexter
,
Mazzetti
,
Mark
and
Risen
,
James
.
2009
.
Brother of Afghan leader said to be paid by CIA
.
New York Times
,
27 October
U.S. Senate, Caucus on International Narcotics Control
.
2010
.
U.S. counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan. July. drugcaucus.senate.gov (accessed 2 March 2011)
U.S. Senate, Caucus on International Narcotics Control
.
2010
.
U.S. counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan. July. drugcaucus.senate.gov (accessed 2 March 2011)
U.S. Department of State and the Broadcasting Board of Governors Office of Inspector General
.
December
2009
.
Status of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs counter narcotics programs in Afghanistan performance audit
,
December
,
Arlington, Va
:
Office of the Inspector General
.
McGirk
,
Tim
.
2003
.
Drugs? What drugs?
.
TIME
,
18 August
Risen
,
James
.
2006
.
State of war
,
London
:
The Free Press
.
Meyer
,
Josh
.
2006
.
Pentagon doing little in Afghan drug fight
.
Los Angeles Times
,
5 December
Rubin
,
Barnett
.
2004
.
Afghanistan's fatal addiction
.
International Herald Tribune
,
28 October
Felbab-Brown
,
Vanda
.
2010
.
Shooting up: Counterinsurgency and the war on drugs
,
Washington, D.C.
:
Brookings Institution Press
.