The Boston Globe reports that Hamid Karzai has irritated American authorities again, this time by pardoning at least 10 convicted drug traffickers, at least some of whom have powerful relatives who are supporting the Afghan president in his campaign to get re-elected when the country goes to the polls on August 20. Read the full story here.
As I have said in numerous presentations I have given on the subject of the drug trade and the insurgency, I believe fighting the Taliban will not be the biggest challenge the U.S., NATO and the international community face when trying to stabilize Afghanistan. In fact, fighting drug corruption within the government and the Afghan National Police will be a much tougher task.