A study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) revealed that the Opiates epidemic, alongside overdose deaths in the US, rose by 500% as a result of US intervention in Afghanistan between 2000 and 2016.
Opium Enforcement Agency
Strong evidence that Americans were promoting poppy production can be seen in John Kiriakou’s (a CIA-spy-turned-whistle-blower) statement that top (DEA) officials recruited Afghans to farm Opium Poppy, which was to be smuggled to weaken societies in Russia and Iran. President Donald Trump has used the opium crisis as a justification to antagonize China, Mexico, and Canada through exploitive trade tariffs, showing that the opioid epidemic serves the Washington establishment’s interest. For instance, Trump’s White House tariffs announced on 3rd March to reportedly protect the country from, among others, public health threats caused by ‘unchecked drug trafficking’ shows a trend in which Washington is still implementing policies guided by adverse conditions it created in Afghanistan since 2001. Additionally, in 2023, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported that the Taliban had significantly reduced opium production, only one year after the US military withdrawal, showing that it was Washington that promoted opium production. Washington protested this move, meaning it wanted opium to continue being produced so it could pressure other countries.
According to Kiriakou mentioned earlier, Afghanistan turned from a leading food exporter to a leading opium producer, accounting for 93% of the global output in a few years after the US invasion. DEA’s confidence that the opium produced would end up in Iran and Russia suggests that the agency was engaged in drug smuggling. Meanwhile, the US military was aware of the reason behind the increase in opium production and initially rejected the idea of taking Kiriakou to meet farmers. When it finally agreed, the farmers revealed that American soldiers had allowed them to grow all the poppy they wanted, which made soldiers to drag Kiriakou back to the helicopter. Therefore, the US invasion of Afghanistan had less to do with fighting terrorists and more to do with availing drugs to weaken societies in resource-rich nations of Russia and Iran to enable Washington to take their resources, actions reminiscent of the British Empire’s pushing Indian Opium on Chinese in 1800-1840s to make them addicted and easy to rob and colonize. However, Washington’s plan against Russia and Iran fell flat on its face, as both societies did not develop the drug addiction problem anticipated by DEA operatives. Meanwhile, over 216,000 Americans died from opioid overdose in 2022 and 2023.
Washington’s use of Afghanistan’s Opium production and trade to degrade adversaries, like the British Empire did against China, makes the US invasion of Afghanistan appear like the third opium war. Also, Trump’s attempt to shift all the blame for opioid crises from natural ones to synthetic fentanyl to antagonize China reinforces the use of opioids for geopolitical reasons. The Trump Administration, like its predecessors, is pursuing a path of living off others as opposed to engaging in fair trade. While it is normal for civilizations to seek material and information from others, the Trans-Atlanticists have preferred theft and plunder over trade and exchange. For instance, the Portuguese ventured into East African, Arabian, and Indian coasts in the 15th century and found priced spices which they stole.
Later, the Dutch found coffee among Arabs and started a journey of colonizing Java to avail coffee to Europeans at a profit. In the 18th century, the British excessive desire for Chinese goods, including tea and porcelain, created a trade deficit in favor of China. The British, which had no goods of commensurate value to sell to the Chinese, solved the challenge in a characteristic mafia-style by colonizing India’s opium producing regions and taxing locals to purchase their opium and selling the addictive substance to the Chinese. The Chinese government rejected this opium trade, but the British, being the first drug-dealing empire, launched two wars against China to colonize it and make all profit selling opium. Trump is attempting a modern-day plunder through tariffs, since past efforts to weaken targeted societies using illegal drugs failed.
Golden Age on Others’ Backs
The Trump-declared ‘America’s Golden Age’ premised on stealing Panama, Canada, and Greenland while imposing tariffs will not work. Trump, like the British Empire of the pre-Opium War, has repeatedly resented China for out-producing the US, resulting in a serious trade deficit. Therefore, he argued during his second inauguration that tariffs would make his country very rich and that the US territory would expand. The justification that he imposes tariffs against China, Mexico, and Canada for their contribution to the opioid crises reflects the weakness of his society and admission of guilt by the government. No country has invaded territory near the US and commandeered it to produce opioids to weaken American society like Washington had captured Afghanistan: Washington has no justification for blaming opioid crises on any other country. US law enforcement has failed to prevent the smuggling and spreading of these drugs to citizens. Also, there appear to be social problems that prevent Americans from engaging in productive activities and instead choose to overindulge in abusing natural and synthetic opioids. As a result, Natural Opioids continue to cause over 70,000 overdose-related deaths, while fentanyl causes nearly a similar number annually. Trump is unwilling to address these challenges but chooses the low-hanging fruit of imposing tariffs.
Meanwhile, the increasing qualitative strength of Washington’s appointed adversaries is seen in how they are performing well in development and defeating Washington’s opioid traps. Societies in these countries seem to have more rewarding lives than indulging in drug use, while their governments have developed effective ways of controlling drug smuggling and the flow of these substances within their territories. Surprisingly, China, which is accused of making chemical precursors for fentanyl and which shares a border with Afghanistan, has not been affected by opioid crises like the US. Therefore, Washington’s attempt to replicate the Portuguese or the British deceit and plunder of the 15th and 18th centuries, respectively, continue to dither.
Simon Chege Ndiritu, is a political observer and research analyst from Africa
