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NATO expects poppy crop in Afghanistan to keep growing
Associated Press
Published January 3, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan - The U.S. general in charge of NATO's Afghanistan mission said Wednesday he expects another year of "explosive growth" in the country's poppy fields. "The money associated with poppy and opiate production continues to appear to be very good," McNeill told a news conference. Afghanistan last year produced 93 percent of the world's opium, the main ingredient in heroin. Its export value was estimated at $4-billion. Links between drug growers and insurgents have been suspected to be growing in recent years.Afghan and NATO forces last month recaptured from militants the town of Musa Qala in Helmand province, the world's largest poppy-growing region. When Afghan and NATO forces moved into the town, they discovered dozens of heroin labs and stockpiles of drugs worth $500-million in street value, according to U.S. Ambassador William Wood. "So when I see a poppy field, I see it turning into money that turns into (weapons) that are used to kill Afghans and members of the International Security Assistance Force," McNeill said.
[Last modified January 3, 2008, 01:20:05]
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