Afghan soldiers ready to fight drug trade
Sixteen Afghan soldiers have graduated from a new training program at Fort Bliss, armed with knowledge on how to fly Russian-made helicopters in anti-drug missions over their war-torn country. The men will now make their final preparations to head back to Afghanistan, where they are expected to immediately get to work trying to halt the booming narcotics trade.
I'm not sure if these steps will help to reduce drugs' production in Afghanistan. There might be a slight political will on the side of government to fight drugs but alot of highly placed Afghan officials earn a fortune out of it. The policies made in Kabul will be very diffucult to implement in provinces since most of local commanders are earning their share from this lucrative business.
We can't ignore the fact that the livelihood of a large number of farmers, living in countryside, depends on cultivating and selling drugs. The incentives offered to these local farmers don't go far enough for them to switch from drugs to other agricultural products. Unless there is comprehensive plan and political will on the part of government to tackle this issue, I'm not optimistic that this problem will be solved in near future.
Do you think that there is a clear political will to slove this problem? Do you think that steps taken are enough to curb this issue? Or do you have any other idea to solve drug problematic?
