The U.S. And The U.K. Disagree On Afghan Drug Strategy

Poppy cultivation is down in Afghanistan but Helmand province remains a challenge for anti-narcotics forces [GALLO/GETTY]

Britain To Continue Poppy Eradication In Afghanistan Despite US Reversal -- The Telegraph

Britain will continue to fund the destruction of opium fields in Afghanistan despite the United States condemning poppy eradication as a waste of money.

The British Government said destroying poppy fields remained a key deterrent to growers and one of the "seven pillars" of its anti-opium strategy in Helmand province, just a day after Richard Holbrooke, the US envoy to Afghanistan, said that destroying the crop only drove poor farmers to join the insurgency.

In a reversal of policy, he said the United States would stop funding poppy eradication and instead concentrate on encouraging farmers to grow alternative crops.

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Update: U.S. to Shift Drug Strategy in Afghanistan -- Wall Street Journal

Update #2: New Course for Antidrug Efforts in Afghanistan -- New York Times

My Comment: The Taliban had the most effective strategy in stopping the opium trade in Afghanistan .... a strategy that all but eliminated poppy cultivation in the country. But will NATO and the Afghan pursue this policy .... a policy that called for the death penalty when it came to poppy cultivation .... hmmmm .... I do not think so.