Heroin – US arch-enemy in Afghanistan

21 Oct, 2009 10:10 / Updated 15 years ago

President Obama's administration's still ruminating over whether or not to send more troops into Afghanistan. Investigative journalist Gerald Posner spoke to RT about al-Qaeda and the Taliban's latest weapon.

The latest threat to US troops in Afghanistan is being led into heroin addiction.

“90% of the world’s opium supply comes out of Afghanistan and the Taliban view this as an additional weapon that they can use against American troops,” Posner explained.

“Many of today’s Taliban are the same people who were able to addict Soviet troops in the 1980’s, who brought a heroin problem back home to Russia,” he added.

US soldiers were previously subject to a drug threat, during the country’s campaign in Vietnam. Then, many troops brought home a drug addiction which was brought about by the easy access to substances at their place of deployment.

“This is an unpopular war with the soldiers unhappy about being there, they are bored, they have no entertainment, and this creates an environment for experimental drug use,” Posner noted.