British and US accused of poppy plague warfare in Afghanistan

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7682412/British-and-US-accused-of-poppy-plague-warfare-in-Afghanistan.html

Is there anything they don't bet on?

Fighting and opium seizures had already been credited with pushing farm gate opium prices up by 19 per cent since last year as speculators bet on reduced supply.

Brother of Afghan Leader Is Said to Be on C.I.A. Payroll

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/world/asia/28intel.html?_r=1

Is there anybody we don't give a paycheck to?

KABUL, Afghanistan — Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials.

The agency pays Mr. Karzai for a variety of services, including helping to recruit an Afghan paramilitary force that operates at the C.I.A.’s direction in and around the southern city of Kandahar, Mr. Karzai’s home.

The financial ties and close working relationship between the intelligence agency and Mr. Karzai raise significant questions about America’s war strategy, which is currently under review at the White House.