Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

Mike Marama:

Hi Ralph. Is it any coincidence that in 2001 the Taliban obliterated the opium production in Afghanistan and then months later the US invades. Then the following year the opium exports not only go back to what they were the previous year but in fact have increased ever since? I attach a related article I read a year ago. What are your thoughts. Regards Mike.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-spoils-of-war-afghanistan-s-multibillion-dollar-heroin-trade/91


Ralph Cinque: 

Mike, I can tell you this: the Taliban (who never use that term; rather, the Islamic Emirate) deny that they are involved in or benefit from drug production in Afghanistan.  But, there is no denying that they govern much of the country, and like any government, they impose taxes. So, I don't doubt that they are getting revenue from the drug trade, at least indirectly. 

And, there is a well-established history of the CIA being involved in drug trafficking, going back to Korea and Laos, and then Central and South America. 

There may be competing lines of drug production in Afghanistan, some that reap to them and some that reap to us.  

But, the bottom line is that the Taliban is very well funded, and they are never going to have to stop fighting because of a lack of money. 

The U.S. is in a checkmate situation in Afghanistan. The situation is terribly bad, and that's why there is so little reporting about it in the mainstream media. The recent flurry about progress in negotiating with the Taliban was an exception, and it was pure hogwash. The only positive thing about it is that they talked at all. There wasn't the slightest movement towards resolution of the conflict. The Taliban did not concede a damn thing. And as others have pointed out, it is embarrassing and degrading for the United States to be pleading on hands and knees for the Taliban to talk to them while they, the Taliban, are aggressively attacking the Afghan government, which they proudly admit.


The U.S. has only 14,000 troops in Afghanistan. The prospect of the Afghan government defeating the Taliban is zero. To pursue a military victory against them, we would have to bring back hundreds of thousands of troops. And, the best outcome to hope for would be a fragile hold on things, but the war would never end. It would go on forever. It would be perpetual. We can't beat them. And besides being futile, with zero chance of victory, the American people are not going to support an escalation of the war in Afghanistan. 

So, it's militarily hopeless, and we want to get out. But, we are concerned about our reputation as the world's 800 pound gorilla.  We at least want to make it look like we didn't lose. Is there a way that can be done that is acceptable to the Taliban?  At this point in time, I can't see a bridge.