Last week, during a two-day national anti-drug conference, President Khamid Karzai called on the delegates to declare an all-out war to drugs cultivation, with up to 10 percent of self-employed Afghans growing opium poppy to sustain themselves amid economic devastation. The Afghan government's ambition is to fully eradicate opium poppy crops in 2005-a noble, but unrealistic task, given the fact that 25 years of civil war in that country have disrupted all economic ties, making opium poppy cultivation the only livelihood option for millions of Afghan farmers. Without massive international aid, the Afghan drug threat will be impossible to eliminate. But international donors are in no hurry to deliver on the promises they gave at international conferences on Afghanistan in Bonn and Tokyo. As a result, this year's opium harvest came to an all-time record of 4,600 tons, which is equivalent to about 320 tons of heroin, UN statistics indicate.
Afghanistan's Foreign Minister, Abdullah Abdullah, said in a RIA interview that the United States and the United Kingdom are playing a pivotal role in eradicating opium poppy. But Afghan authorities would like other countries, such as Russia, to join in the effort, he said.
