Afghan Opium Crop Climbs to Record High Production

The Afghan opium crop is now churning out a record high production according to the Bush administration.  Opium production in Afghanistan has soared and the country's crop that provides more than 90 percent of the world's heroin, broke all records in 2006.

Afghan Opium Crop Climbs to Record High Production

The White House says it has reached this historic high despite ongoing U.S.-sponsored eradication efforts.

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The Post Chronicle cites reports that claim that in addition to a 26 percent production increase over past year, the amount of land under cultivation in opium poppies grew by 61 percent. 

Cultivation in the two main production provinces in central Afghanistan was up by 132 percent, reports the Washington Post.

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"They have their own capability to inflict damage, to make sure that the roads and the passages stay open and they get to where they want to go, whether it's through Pakistan, Iran, up through Russia and all the known trade routes. So this is a very violent cartel," says Gen. James L. Jones, supreme allied commander for NATO. "They are buying their protection by funding other organizations, from criminal gangs to tribes, to inciting any kind of resistance to keep the government off of their back."

"It would be wrong to say that this is just the Taliban. I think I need to set that record straight," he added.

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"There is supposed to be a tremendous energy associated with this," Jones said of the counter-narcotics programs, "but it needs a fresh look because - we're losing ground.