By 2007, as the Taliban and Al Qaeda were regrouping, the drug trade reached a record level, with potential opium production up nearly 42% from the year before, according to DEA and CIA reports.
"Clearly there was a mistake made early on," between 2001 and 2006, said Thomas Schweich, who became the Bush administration's coordinator for counter-narcotics and justice reform in Afghanistan in 2007. "Had we taken this more seriously early on, it never would have gotten as bad as it is."
DEA officials pushing for an Afghan expansion in 2007 were supported by then-deputy national security advisor Juan Carlos Zarate, who was in charge of global counter-terrorism and finance issues. But, Zarate said, deployment was held up again amid negotiations over what kind of role they would play.
Riedel said the Bush White House "never focused its attention on this until the very, very last days."
"They created the perfect storm: We're losing the war against the Taliban, and we've allowed the development of a huge drug industry which corrupts the very state we're trying to help," he said.
Two months ago, nine DEA agents participated in the largest U.S. special forces mission in Afghanistan since 2001, a four-day battle to take out a major Taliban stronghold and drug bazaar in the town of Marjeh in Helmand province.
Authorities say they seized a huge cache of weapons, explosives and bomb-making materials, as well as many tons of drugs in all stages of production.
DEA agents were able to help Afghan authorities arrest and obtain statements from those at the scene and to seize and exploit their cellphones, satellite phones and drug ledgers, said DEA Special Agent Nick Brooke.
"The beauty of this is that we get evidence out of it," Brooke said. "And since the operations are bilateral, we can prosecute these people under Afghan law," or in some cases under U.S. law.
Several weeks ago, DEA agents led another suspected Afghan drug kingpin, Haji Bagcho, off a plane at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, after arresting him on U.S. federal drug charges tied to his alleged financing of the Taliban.
At the same time, some current and former officials question whether Afghan government corruption and indifference are too rampant to turn the tide. Recently, President Hamid Karzai pardoned at least five convicted major drug traffickers, prompting a rare U.S. State Department rebuke.
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josh.meyer@latimes.com
