There is a major debate about the loss of Afghanistan, but for the most part, it has followed the Prime Directive: “Don’t mention the Drug War!”
Nonetheless, it seems relevant that Afghanistan is still the world’s largest opium poppy producer.
According to Reuters, “Despite the threats posed by Afghanistan’s illicit drug business, experts noted, the United States and other nations rarely mention in public the need to address the trade, estimated by the UNODC at more than 80% of global opium and heroin supplies.”
So, we controlled the country? And our Drug War was subsidizing the Taliban?