British military sanctions Afghan poppy cultivation

Earlier this month the British military airdropped leaflets across the Sangin valley stressing to farmers that the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would not interfere with the current harvest.

"Dear respected and noble resident of Helmand," read one translation The Guardian obtained from a western drugs official. "The Afghan national army and ISAF will not destroy your poppy fields. Poppy is the only tool of the economy and benefits farmers. We do not want to stop your source of food and money."

British forces also paid for radio advertisements that reminded Helmand residents that UK and Afghan troops "did not destroy your poppies" in Babaji, the scene of a battle with the Taliban recently and a major poppy cultivation zone. "[The Afghan army] and ISAF forces know the people have no other income," said the message broadcast across Afghanistan's largest province.

The advertisements infuriated senior Afghan officials - including the president, Hamid Karzai - who have been under intense western pressure to rein in the burgeoning drugs trade. Opium cultivation soared 59% last year, earning local traffickers £1.2bn. The spike was concentrated in Helmand.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,2067007,00.html