Afghanistan is the world's opium king. Can the Taliban afford to kill off their 'un-Islamic' cash cow?

When the khaki-colored landscapes of Afghanistan are transformed by a patchwork of pink, white and purple each spring, farmers rejoice. Their cash crop of poppies is ready for harvesting. Opium cultivation has long been a source of income for rural communities across the country, a land besieged by decades of war. But for the United States, those same colorful scenes symbolized the enemy.

"When I see a poppy field, I see it turning into money and then into IEDs [improvised explosive devices], AKs [assault rifles], and RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades]," said Gen. Dan McNeill, commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.

This narrative contributed to how the United States' war on drugs was fought -- and lost. Over 20 years, the US squandered nearly $9 billion on a counternarcotics policy that -- perversely -- helped to fill the Taliban's pockets and, in some regions, fueled support for the insurgents.

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