*Exactly* as I said it would be. And to all the numerous idiots that didn't have any fucking first hand knowledge of these fuckers, that kept insisting that "The taliban will outlaw opium production!" and "Opium production will go down under the taliban after the US leaves!"? I know those fuckers and I fucking told you so. Suck it. For the idiots that see everything as a jewish plot, opium was being grown in those same fields 2,200 years ago when Cyrus blew through there from Persia, and were still in operation when Alexander came through on his way to India 200 years later. I spent 17 years in Afghanistan. I know those people. The taliban are not some monolithic block. They are a loose confederation of competing tribal interests. Think "The Sopranos" but in pakols. They are like any other human being. They want things. Things that can be only be bought for money. Opium is the only product they have that is highly marketable. I have seen them kill each other over market share just like any other tribal gangs over who gets what cut of the drug profits. I've seen taliban commanders begging their men not to walk away during the opium harvest season, because they could make 2-3 times per day harvesting opium as they can toting an AK as a taliban foot soldier (Yes. They get paid to fight. What? You thought they were doing it for free? Because "Muh Izlam!"? snerk). An Afghan border guard captain, working on the Iranian border, makes about $4,000 USD *per day* just on the "excise taxes" he makes per kilo going out. That's more than the POTUS. Nobody just walks away from that kind of money. Now consider their costs. They are landlocked. No ports. Everything comes in from surrounding countries who are all in competition with each other to see how much they milk they can get out of the cow. Every consumer good gets "taxed" multiple times on it's way to Kabul. So they are being constantly fucked by everybody. So that, to give an example, by the time a diesel Toyota Hilux truck gets to Kabul, it will cost about $80,000 USD. Anyone who thought that the taliban were going to just stop producing the one thing that they can trade for cash because "Muh, izlam." is guilty of wishful thinking of the worst sort. And anyone who thought that the opium trade in Afghanistan was a jewish/Mossad/CIA/us.gov plot that suddenly sprang into existence in 1980 is a baby duck who thinks history just started today. And guess what? 2,000 years from now the descendants of those same people will *still* be growing opium in the same fields. Who are you going to blame it on then? And if your opinion on the matter has been formed by what you read on the internet, not from first-hand experience, do yourself a favor and keep it to yourself. "It is far better to remain silent and be suspected of being a fool..."