Today's New York Times editorial on Afghanistan laments that country's continuing disintegration, and summarizes some of the symptoms, but only hints at one of the deep causes: opium.
Afghan farmers are desperately poor. The Taliban is mercilessly cruel. Who can blame the farmers for growing the crop that produces the most cash, when the alternative is forcing your family to face poverty, hunger, bitter cold, and bullets?
And who can blame Afghan government officials for choosing to pocket opium cash instead of facing assassination?
I am not among those who think we should simply get out of Afghanistan. The Taliban's threat to next-door Pakistan -- which has nukes -- is too great. But until we face up to the fact that the opium problem is at root a wealth-and-poverty problem, we won't be able to manage the opium problem.
And until we manage the opium problem, we won't be able to stabilize Afghanistan.
And while Afghanistan remains unstable, the Taliban edges closer to getting a Pakistani nuke.
What to do about it?
A proposal below the fold.