Opium production in Afghanistan back to highs not seen since before we stepped in during 2001.

An interesting and scary quote and statistic: "According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), opium production had a boom year in 2006, rising to 6,100 tons. This marked a 49% increase over 2005, yielding an estimated US$755 million to farmers on the basis of a slightly decreased farm-gate price of $125 per kilogram of dry opium. With the national government's revenues at less than $350 million for 2006, the opium economy is a formidable financial power base beyond the state's control. Good weather conditions are expected in 2007, suggesting another huge harvest."

To see some more about this and some of what we (the US) are trying to do to cut the production of opium, I suggest you read the article from yesterday's New York Times. Interestingly, the production levels in Afghanistan fell to almost zero under the Taliban just ahead of our invasion and occupation there. It's obviously a shame that we didn't hurry and grab Osama bin-Forgotten before he crawled out of the trap/tunnels at Tora Bora. Like Iraq, we seem to be caught in a no-win situation there too.