The roads make it easier to take the opium somewhere else to make more money.

As individuals, the Afghans are an appealing group (according to things I’ve read , written by people like Michael Yon, and others that have been there); stubborn, independent, they somewhat resemble the yeoman farmers that were the Jeffersonian ideal of America.
Somewhat.
But if you take a step back, the poor yeoman farmers are part of a larger, medieval culture that is not susceptible to change. There is a tribal, feudal system to the culture (not the government) of that poor country. It promotes all kinds of things to make “easy money”, banditry, harsh patriarchy, etc. It’s been this way since before Alexander got stuck there 2300 years ago (read “The Afghan Campaign” by Steven Pressfield for a fictionalized account). Anyone who has a real hunger for a better life usually finds a way out of the country.

None of this is news to most of the regular readers of the Belmont Club, of course.

But what to do with these people and the situation to prevent Afghanistan slipping back into the blackhole of Taliban/al Qaeda chaos? I remember back in the ’80′s a friend of mine told me he bought Hashish that was molded into a disk that had an emblem of the Mujahadeen (A fist holding a rifle) fighting the Soviets at that time. They were selling stuff back then to support their “war effort”.

Whatever trick we come up with, it’s got to be attractive enough to these people that they will mostly give up growing opium to make money, and do something else to make money. Good luck with that.

Or nuke Quetta and be done with it. That would make a harsh example.