Afghan Traffic Jam

by Chris Bodenner

The NYT reports that the US military is targeting 50 drug traffickers in Afghanistan. Michael Cohen is gobsmacked:

Ok, just so I have this straight: we're going to start killing drug traffickers in Afghanistan because drug money from opium sales goes to the Taliban. (Oh and by the way don't worry this is totally legal because the military said it is). [...] And if we don't target these drug traffickers the Taliban will drive from Kandahar to Kabul where they will take over the country again. Then they will create a safe haven for Al Qaeda, who will set up precisely the same terrorist infrastructure that they had pre-2001 and there's not a single thing that the US will be able to do about it. And then America will get hit by a terrorist attack again.

You want to know how messed up this idea is: even Andrew Exum agrees with me!

Are we really going to spend our time, money and precious ISR assets going after the Pashtun Pablo Escobar? Again, why are we in Afghanistan? To fight drugs?

Here's the thing: if we're out there killing drug dealers in Afghanistan that's the practical definition of mission creep. What's next, are we going to start trying to convince farmers to grow something other than opium . . . oh jeez.