The Afghan Drug Trade Is Creating A Security Crisis Throughout Central Asia

RIA Novosti (Oct. 23, 2009): The most modern and the best equipped laboratories processing opium poppy into heroin are located in the northern provinces of Afghanistan near the Tajik, Turkmen and Uzbek borders, which are areas of influence of the Northern Alliance. The real threat comes from drug bosses operating in the north of Afghanistan, "and the coalition forces are not conducting an effective fight against them," the official said. RAWA

Afghan Drug Trade Sends Tremors -- Wall Street Journal

Dispute Over Trafficking Sparks Security Crisis Along Opium Route Through Neighboring Tajikistan.

DUSHANBE, Tajikistan—A dispute over the drug trade lies at the heart of a security crisis that has gripped this Central Asian nation, as Afghanistan's opium industry sows instability across the region.

Senior Tajik law enforcement officials are involved in this trade, Western officials say, including a border commander targeted by government forces last week in the worst violence since the country's civil war ended in 1997.

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My Comment: For Russia and neighboring Central Asian countries .... the heroin that is coming out of Afghanistan is now creating a social and health crisis that is reaching epidemic proportions. Expect Russia to become more actively involved in combating this drug trade .... and trying it's best to keep NATO forces in Afghanistan as long as possible to combat the drug lords and their Taliban allies.