Afghan Addictions

[cma]

As Afghanistan limps through the year, many improvements shall not be forgotten. The UN's aid to the struggling "Taliban" country has helped it develop clean water, medical care, and better education. With these successes taking place, the only way to go for Afghanistan is up. The economy is expected to grow by a third or more this year. New Islamic ideas are taking place to create more equality, which is definetly good for the women!

There are still two major problems though; neo-Taliban groups, which are not to major, and the countries adaptation to depend on opium, a substance used to create many illegal drugs.

Some 90% if Heroin is supplied from the Middle Eastern country, since they depend on opium for money, the general working population of the country sees no problem, but other countries do. Opium provides half or more of the income in Afghanistan, which makes it even harder to pry them away from the nerco-addiction of exporting it.

Nobody knows what is to become of this country, it may become the next China. China, long ago, was influenced by the British to harvest opium. Many anti-Western uprises occured, changing the government dramatically. Whatever happens, I hope the UN human aid keeps helping the country recover from previous cuts into its culture.

[Stamford]

The Taliban, ironically were the ones who tried to stem the growing and harvesting of opium.

The Northern Alliance, a rag-tag group of warlords who aided the US and British forces in Afghanistan, however, are now supporting the growing of these crops.

It's a funny old world.