As Afghanistan limps through the year, many improvements shall not be forgotten. The UN's aid to the struggling "Taliban" country has helped it develop clean water, medical care, and better education. With these successes taking place, the only way to go for Afghanistan is up. The economy is expected to grow by a third or more this year. New Islamic ideas are taking place to create more equality, which is definetly good for the women! There are still two major problems though; neo-Taliban groups, which are not to major, and the countries adaptation to depend on opium, a substance used to create many illegal drugs. Some 90% if Heroin is supplied from the Middle Eastern country, since they depend on opium for money, the general working population of the country sees no problem, but other countries do. Opium provides half or more of the income in Afghanistan, which makes it even harder to pry them away from the nerco-addiction of exporting it. Nobody knows what is to become of this country, it may become the next China. China, long ago, was influenced by the British to harvest opium. Many anti-Western uprises occured, changing the government dramatically. Whatever happens, I hope the UN human aid keeps helping the country recover from previous cuts into its culture.
One note ... Afghanistan didn't adapt to depend on opium. They were a major source under the Taliban before.
90% you say? Hey, market-share is up. Whether that means supply in general is down or that business is booming in Afghanistan ... oh, wait ... it's a GOP administration in the US. Therefore business is most likely booming. Before 9/11, the number was estimated to be 75% of the world's heroin coming from Afghanistan. Legalize. Disarm the commodity of heroin. The reason it's heroin is because some countries (e.g. United States) treat heroin the same as opium resin and synthetic opiates. That's right, if you are caught with a synthetic opiate, you're charged the same as possessing heroin. While this isn't a big deal, don't be smoking a joint if you do, or else carrier-weight and compound-sentencing for "distribution" makes you into a dangerous heroin dealer. Why don't people sell lots of opium resin on the streets? Because most of that opium is going into heroin. Why heroin? Because it's all the same risk, so people want the max profit. I've smoked opium. I don't want anything stronger. Legalize in the United States, and Afghanistan will join the first world at an accellerated rate, because of the opium dollars. And hey, what better American "revenge" than unleashing a torrent of vice-money into the Islamic world? The resurrection of brothels and casinos? The liberty of sin is the secret fuel behind America's economic success.
I thougth it was more of a viscious circle. They cant really afford to grow anything else, and if they are to be enabled to do something that is economically more income increasing than Opium, itll likely take the development of the country, except that is kind of held up by warlords and people who depend upon opium for money.
Anti-west is the way to go. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! I don't believe, by what you're saying, that they have exactly the same problem China had. China wasn't exporting or cultivating were they? But the country does have something similar to shoguns.. who did kill a lot of Christians? Any wagers for an eminent 'Boxer rebellion' type thing?
