KABUL, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Afghanistan's already booming drugs trade is likely to grow even more this year, the head of foreign troops in the country said on Wednesday, warning this would bankroll the Taliban insurgency.
Afghanistan's poppies already produce more than 90 percent of the world's heroin, but the government, the United Nations, donor countries and commanders of the 40,000-plus foreign force are divided over how best to tackle the problem.
General Dan McNeill, commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan, told his first news briefing of the new year on Wednesday there was a clear link between poppy growing and the strength of the insurgency.
"When I see a poppy field, I see it turning into money and then into IEDs, AKs and RPGs ...," he said referring to the improvised explosive devices, Kalashnikov rifles and rocket propelled grenades favoured by the Taliban.
Acknowledging he had little hard data to back him up, McNeill estimated that 20-30 percent of Afghanistan's multi-billion dollar illicit drug economy -- vastly bigger than the formal economy -- was funding the insurgency.
With long-term weather forecasts suggesting perfect growing conditions this year, rising demand and higher prices, both the industry and insurgency will grow unless "pressure, incentives or dissuasion" are significantly increased, he said.
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