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American Morning

Stable, New Government in Afghanistan Could Mean Reduced Supply of Heroin and Opium All Over the World

Aired November 16, 2001 - 07:49   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Here is a startling statistic for you this morning. Opium from Afghanistan accounts for 70 percent of the world's heroin production. A stable, new government in that country could mean a reduced supply of heroin and opium all over the world.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has accused the Taliban of supporting the drug trade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It is a regime, founded on fear, and funded by the drugs trade. The biggest drugs hoard in the world is in Afghanistan, controlled by the Taliban. Ninety percent of the heroin on British streets originates in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: And joining us now, Ambassador Richard Butler, with the Council on Foreign Relations, our own ambassador in residence -- welcome back.

RICHARD BUTLER, FORMER U.N. CHIEF WEAPONS INSPECTOR: Good morning, Paula.

ZAHN: So, we've heard Tony Blair talk about the significance, particularly of...

BUTLER: Yes.

ZAHN: ... heroin entering Great Britain, but accusing the Taliban, of course, of funding it all.

BUTLER: He's dead right. It's a truly serious problem, and I think it's one of the great opportunities that we have out of this war on terrorism, to get this out of our lives. World statistics: 70 percent of the world's opium production is grown in Afghanistan. The next country...

ZAHN: It's amazing.

BUTLER: Yes, I know. And people will know that it's from opium that you get morphine for use in hospitals, for heroin as the horrible narcotic. The next big country is Burma, 20 percent. OK. Seventy percent from Afghanistan. It's been under the control of the Taliban. They have had, up until now, some 2,800 tons of opium in stockpile.

ZAHN: What is that worth?

BUTLER: You break that down into heroin, it becomes 280 tons of pure heroin. Break that down in the little packages that are sold to addicts on the street. Are you ready for this, Paula? That is worth, street value, between $40 and $80 million.

ZAHN: Million?

BUTLER: I'm sorry, billion.

ZAHN: Billion.

BUTLER: Forgive me, billion.

ZAHN: Billion dollars?

BUTLER: $40 and $80 billion.

ZAHN: It's incredible.

BUTLER: Now, it comes out of Afghanistan up the old Silk Route.

ZAHN: And what this map shows where it travels to, right?

BUTLER: That's right.

ZAHN: Is this a pretty accurate representation?

BUTLER: Yes, that's right, as I understand it. Because quite far north in Europe, one of the signs of that is that one of the biggest ports of entry, prices of entry is Poland. Some 80 percent of the seizures that have taken place, have taken place on the Polish border. This is an ancient route going back to Genghis Khan, Kubilai Khan that used be a route for silk. It's called the Silk Route, but today, it's the route for heroin.

ZAHN: I would assume that you would think a scorched earth policy would be the best way to get rid of this opium. How risky is that for the U.S. and its allies to undertake? We're talking about civilian populations obviously...

BUTLER: Yes.

ZAHN: ... living where a lot of this production is.

BUTLER: Not risky at all. What the Taliban did, and this is just another aspect of their brutality, they have stopped people growing wheat for food in order to plant those fields with opium. With a new government in place in Afghanistan, it gives us the opportunity to stamp out the production of opium poppy. These beautiful little flowers that actually product heroin, to just stamp that out and grow wheat instead, feed the people. This is a real opportunity, and I think we should take it.

ZAHN: $40 to $80 billion...

BUTLER: Billion dollars.

ZAHN: ... of worth on the street. That is incredible.

BUTLER: That's right.

ZAHN: Richard Butler, have a good weekend.

BUTLER: OK. Good to see you.

ZAHN: Thanks for joining us this morning.

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