The War on Drugs and Anglo-American Relations

A critical evaluation of Anglo-American counter narcotics strategy in Afghanistan, 2001-2011

This book reveals the inside story of the formulation and implementation the United States' and United Kingdom's counter narcotics policies in Afghanistan. Western counter narcotics policies in Afghanistan failed dismally after opium poppy cultivation surged to unprecedented levels. The Anglo-American partnership at the centre of this battleground was divided by competing and opposing views of how to address the opium problem, which troubled the well-established Anglo-American relationship. Through interviews with key policy practitioners on both sides of the Atlantic, this study reveals the complex picture of counter narcotics strategy; highlighting key points of cooperation and contention and detailing the often contradictory and competitive objectives of the overall war effort in Afghanistan.

Philip A. Berry is a Lecturer in War Studies Education in the Centre for Defence Studies at King's College London