Kicking the Habit: Taliban Power Dynamics and Opium Crop Replacement as a Valuable Change in U.S. Policy for Afghanistan

Abstract

U.S. policy in Afghanistan since 2001 has often had its shortcomings, and the war seems endless. The Taliban is as powerful as ever, and earns most of its money through the opium drug trade. To make progress after 19 years of conflict, the U.S. should shift towards a strategy involving the replacement of poppy flowers with saffron, cotton, and other products, starting at the ground level with farmers who can make this change.