How can you not like news that involves "Warlords?"
Written by: Beck
As all hell breaks loose in Iraq, people are even less inclined to pay attention to any of the news coming out of Afghanistan. That may have a lot to do with why
I got this story from the Baltimore Sun (as opposed to my normal haunts of NRO and CNN).
In a nation as divided as Afghanistan, can you even legitimately call a fight between rival warlords a "civil war?" Those familiar with the history of Afghanistan will be surprised neither by outbreaks of violence between local hegemons, nor by news that the "invasion force" consisted of "some 200 vehicles and 400
horses."
But wait! There's more:
In other news yesterday, the State Department's top counternarcotics official said Afghanistan may be on pace for a world record opium poppy crop this year.
The specter of nearly 300,000 acres of poppy cultivation this year would "empower both traffickers and the terrorists they feed," says Robert Charles. The prospective bumper crop has been aided by unseasonably warm temperatures this year.
According to U.N. estimates, poppy exports were a $2.3 billion business last year, nearly half of the country's gross national product.
Question for Speculator: is there any way I can short heroine futures?