Triumph of the Wheat

The situation in Afghanistan has been deteriorating for a long time now, partly because the Taliban are still supported by elements within Pakistan, but also because NATO's refusal to allow profitable opium cultivation was driving farmers to the Taliban side.

Now, finally, that may be changing. This is not due to any policy of ours, but the a massive increase in the global price of wheat. If wheat stays high, it'll be more profitable than opium, depriving the Taliban of their main source of funding next year.

As often happens, economics has proven to be more powerful than guns, bombs, or crop-killing poisons. This is a lesson we should not forget.