Thomas Schweich, who served as the State Department's most senior anti-drugs in official in Afghanistan until last month, said that Mr Karzai's overriding concern was to hold power. This had led him to protect 20 government officials, all linked to drug trafficking.Afghanistan is the world's largest heroin producer by far. This year's poppy crop covers an area of 200,000 hectares, according to Mr Schweich, making it the "biggest narco-crop in history".
He told the BBC that Mr Karzai was manipulating his Western allies and "playing us like a fiddle". Mr Schweich said: "The US would spend billions of dollars on infrastructure development; the US and its allies would fight the Taliban; Karzai's friends could get richer off the drug trade; he could blame the West for his problems; and in 2009 he would be elected to a new term."
He told the BBC that Mr Karzai was manipulating his Western allies and "playing us like a fiddle". Mr Schweich said: "The US would spend billions of dollars on infrastructure development; the US and its allies would fight the Taliban; Karzai's friends could get richer off the drug trade; he could blame the West for his problems; and in 2009 he would be elected to a new term."
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