An Afghan boy harvests opium in a poppy field as U.S. Marines patrol a village in the Golestan district of Farah province, May 5, 2009. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

The great poppyseed caper

The US military proudly announced it had "busted" Afghanis in possession of 82.5 tons of bagel topping.

By Jean MacKenzie - GlobalPost
Published: June 22, 2009 06:11 ET
Updated: June 22, 2009 16:57 ET

KABUL — Fans of poppyseed bagels may want to start glancing furtively around for undercover narcs before taking a bite of their black-speckled breakfast rolls. According to the U.S. military, poppyseeds are narcotics, in the same league as opium or heroin.

This, at least, is the message conveyed by a recent raid in Marja district of Helmand Province, where U.S. forces, after a four-day military offensive, proudly announced the biggest-ever drug bust in Afghanistan: more than 101 tons of “narcotics,” whose seizure “severely disrupted one of the key militant and criminal operations and narcotics hubs in southern Afghanistan,” according to U.S. military spokesperson Col. Greg Julian.

What he failed to highlight was that more than 80 percent of it — 82.5 tons — was bagel topping, although most of this cache was probably destined for planting, rather than eating.

“We cannot really say that poppyseeds are narcotics,” acknowledged a U.S. official, speaking on background. “They are potential narcotics.”

Smaller amounts of actual drugs were seized — 18.5 tons of opium, 0.04 tons of morphine, 0.22 tons of heroin and 0.2 tons of hashish. To put the numbers in perspective, the opium represents three-tenths of 1 percent of the nearly 6,000 tons that Helmand produced in 2008.

“It was not hugely substantial,” admitted the U.S. official.

But the significance of the Marja operation goes beyond the hype surrounding the seizure of drugs. It represents a new emphasis in the use of U.S. troops in Afghanistan — from counter-insurgency to counter-narcotics.

The Marja raid included 14 agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), whose Forward Advisory Support Team (FAST) is trained to interface with U.S. Special Forces.

“You cannot tell the difference between them and Special Forces,” the U.S. official said.

The FAST agents are not allowed to participate in strictly counterinsurgency offensives — their mission is counter-narcotics. In Marja, they were assisting U.S. Special Forces and Afghan commandos from the 205th Atal Corps.

The troops went into Marja, a small community approximately 30 kilometers from the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, on May 19. The announced aim was to clean out what is, admittedly, a hotbed of drug and Taliban activity.

Comments:

1 Comments.

Login or Register to post comments

Posted by RScott on June 23, 2009 11:15 ET

The farmers of central Helmand (this includes Marja) have been asking for help to get out of poppy cultivation since at least 1997 with the support of their traditional cash crops of wheat, cotton, peanuts, melons, vegetables, and a credit program. All of which we have been unable to effectively respond to. Opium poppy took over, corruption took over and support for the "Taliban" grew. To some very great extent, the present situation with the opium trade in central Helmand, where some 60+% of the country's opium is cultivated in the largest irrigation system in the country mostly developed with US funding between 1946-79, is of our own making through our inability to listen to the farmers and act accordingly.And killing people and disrupting the economy which we have supported through our ineptitude will not change much. And it certainly will not win us any friends.

Recent on Afghanistan:

Troops' deaths shatter trust in Helmand

Jean MacKenzie and Aziz Ahmad Tassal - Afghanistan - November 6, 2009 06:14 ET

Afghans and Brits alike fear that the deaths of 5 British troops at the hands of a police colleague have tipped an already tense working relationship into outright distrust.

Afghanistan: The fog of war

Finbarr O'Reilly - Afghanistan - November 5, 2009 10:51 ET

Video: Embedded with Canadian troops, photographer Finbarr O'Reilly captures the confusion and chaos of a worsening conflict.

Why Poland has soured on Afghanistan

Jan Cienski - Poland - November 4, 2009 06:46 ET

A recent poll found 77 percent of Poles want their troops withdrawn.

Greek aid worker held by Taliban

Iason Athanasiadis - Afghanistan - November 3, 2009 06:44 ET

A schoolteacher from Athens was the only Westerner living in the valleys on Pakistan’s mountainous frontier.

Why Stephen Harper prefers US news

Sandro Contenta - Canada - November 2, 2009 20:08 ET

Questions over Canada’s role in the Afghanistan war and unflattering polls have the prime minister eyeing the exits.

Karzai declared winner by default

Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - November 2, 2009 12:26 ET

The Afghan president gains a second 5-year term but there are questions about the legitimacy of his win.

Abdullah withdraws from Afghan election

Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - November 1, 2009 11:23 ET

Can runoff race be valid with only President Hamid Karzai?

Taliban attacks on both sides of the AfPak border

Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 28, 2009 10:34 ET

In Kabul and Peshawar, nearly 100 dead, among them UN staffers.

Rumor sparks anti-American protests

Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 25, 2009 10:14 ET

A Koran-burning incident in Afghanistan prompts demonstrations in Kabul.

Flanked by foreign dignitaries, Karzai announces a runoff

Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 20, 2009 10:43 ET

Two months to the day after Afghanistan’s badly flawed presidential elections, the stalemate is over.

Major fraud finding adds to pressure on Karzai

Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 20, 2009 06:04 ET

A UN-backed body found that fraud may have handed the Afghan president an illegal majority, but Karzai is resisting a runoff.

Interview: Ambassador Ryan Crocker

C.M. Sennott - Worldview - October 19, 2009 09:16 ET

The longtime diplomat says Obama needs to choose an AfPak strategy before the Taliban further consolidates its hold.

Did a US 'hit' create an Afghan hero?

Jean MacKenzie and Mustafa Saber - Afghanistan - October 15, 2009 12:48 ET

American forces have finally managed to kill Ghulam Yahya Akbari, the self-styled scourge of Herat, a city he had once served as mayor. But at what cost?

A dark anniversary

Jean MacKenzie - Worldview - October 10, 2009 09:48 ET

Taking stock of the eight years since the US invaded Afghanistan: The Taliban is back, America is bogged down and Afghans are tired of it all.

Are Pentagon contracts funding the Taliban?

Jean MacKenzie - Afghanistan - October 7, 2009 12:44 ET

A US military aid program is being used by the Taliban as an extortion racket.

Opinion: Isolating insurgents is nothing new

HDS Greenway - Worldview - October 6, 2009 05:42 ET

In the Vietnam era it was called pacification. Today it’s nation-building.

Analysis: Obama strikes a tough tone on Iran

C.M. Sennott - Worldview - September 30, 2009 18:50 ET

But the diplomacy needed to get Iran to halt its nuclear program will require more than tone.

Analysis: Al Qaeda on its way out?

C.M. Sennott - Worldview - September 30, 2009 07:18 ET

Al Qaeda, like all extremist movements, will inevitably implode. Now is the beginning of its decline.

Opinion: Weighing Holbrooke's "last mission"

HDS Greenway - Worldview - September 29, 2009 15:40 ET

A recent article explores the demons and obsessions dogging Obama's Af-Pak envoy.