[t-3]

Afghanistan is incredibly rich in resources, and they have a suitable climate for the production of opium poppy, the precursor to heroin.

"natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, chromite, talc, barites, sulfur, lead, zinc, iron ore, salt, precious and semiprecious stones, arable land" https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/afghanistan...

[ProjectArcturis]

Did the US pursue a policy of building mines in Afghanistan? Did they promote poppy cultivation?

[jessaustin]

Poppy cultivation was serially outlawed, punished, tolerated, encouraged, etc, start again. Different policies came through on a regular basis, with no more reliance on logic or local circumstances than any other USA military policy in Afghanistan. The only constant was that nobody screwed with fields owned by powerful people e.g. Ahmed Wali Karzai.