US Money to Support Afghan Irrigation ‘Helped’ Poppy Cultivation

US Money to Support Afghan Irrigation ‘Helped’ Poppy Cultivation

US counternarcotics policy in Afghanistan not only failed to reduce the notorious opium production, but also contributed to increased poppy cultivation due to Washington’s funding of irrigation projects, a new report said. The US spent some $8.62 billion on counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan in 2002-2017, a report from Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR),…