While the Taliban successfully eliminated poppy cultivation in 2000, the U.S. invasion in 2001 saw a massive resurgence in opium production that eventually supplied 90% of the world’s heroin. The Pentagon prioritized alliances with corrupt warlords who managed the drug trade to maintain military control and counterinsurgency efforts. Furthermore, the resulting heroin surge served as a geopolitical weapon to destabilize rivals like Russia and Iran through widespread addiction crises.