For once, the Taliban is right!

 The Taliban are the Good Guys... Huh? 

 By James Terminiello 

 

I found this mind-boggling post on the website of the United States Institute of Peace.  

 

The Taliban have done it again: implementing a nearly complete ban against cultivation of opium poppy — Afghanistan’s most important agricultural product — repeating their similarly successful 2000-2001 prohibition on the crop. But the temptation to view the current ban in an overly positive light — as an important global counter-narcotics victory — must be avoided. This is particularly true given the state of Afghanistan’s economy and the country’s humanitarian situation. Indeed, the ban imposes huge economic and humanitarian costs on Afghans and it is likely to further stimulate an outflow of refugees. It may even result in internal challenges for the Taliban itself. And, in the long run, it will not have lasting counter-narcotics benefits within Afghanistan or globally. 

 

Hold on now. When last I looked: Opium bad/Banning opium good.  

 

I suppose I’m being simplistic here but even if the ban (should it succeed) hurts the economy of Afghanistan until the farmers switch to other crops, what about the fewer drugs addicts around the world that may result from cutting out a major supplier? And they are a major supplier! There seems to be something humanitarian about that. And suppose the ban makes things bad for the Taliban? Is that such an awful thing? They are not nice people, you know. So far, win/win.  

 

This makes me think back to our 20-year (Yes! 20-year!) occupation of Afghanistan. During all those 7,300 days of winning hearts and minds we were never able to convince or teach the Afghans to switch to other crops. And we had an army there to serve as a convincer with excessive firepower! 

 

Could it be that ending the opium trade was just not a priority for us benevolent Americans? The evidence points that way. 

 

So, Taliban my fine fellows, I personally think you are a cretinous, misogynistic, gaggle of 5th century theocratic maniacs. But on this one issue, I wish you godspeed.  

 

 

James Terminiello, author of the political satire Junkyard, writes from Mount Laurel, New Jersey. 

 

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