On March 24, Russia and NATO discussed efforts...

Predictably, Moscow failed to persuade NATO to step up its campaign against the drug trade in Afghanistan.

Viktor Ivanov, Head of Russia"s Federal Service for Drug Control, tried to persuade NATO representatives to start destroying poppy plantations. The response was that NATO forces already tried to eradicate poppy fields, but it only antagonized Afghan farmers and drove them into the arms of the Taliban.

NATO has now decided to leave the farmers alone and to crack down on drug lords, laboratories and smugglers instead.

Previously, Russia failed to add a similar clause in a UN Security Council resolution on extending the mandate of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Other efforts have also proved futile.

A rather vicious and sinister opium circle is emerging. The United States and NATO are saying that Afghan farmers need to grow opium to survive and that depriving them of their livelihood will only turn them against

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