"Opium-growing has a long history in Afghanistan, a tradition shattered by last year's sudden Taliban ban on poppy planting after several years of unofficial tolerance and profit from the crop. 'Last year was the first time in 50 years that poppies had not been grown in my village,' Ali said."
That's the message sent with the recent gift of $43 million to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan, the most virulent anti-American violators of human rights in the world today. The gift, announced last Thursday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, in addition to other recent aid, makes the U.S. the main sponsor of the Taliban and rewards that "rogue regime" for declaring that opium growing is against the will of God. So, too, by the Taliban's estimation, are most human activities, but it's the ban on drugs that catches this administration's attention.http://www.robertscheer.com/1_natcolumn/01_columns/052201.htm
Although what it looks like is that we paid them as a reward for saying this, or perhaps we told them we'd be willing to give them buku bucks if they would and paid them after they delivered. I kind of like the ironic wording there. The U.S. was the main sonsor of the Taliban.