Afghanistan needs to wage a far more effective fight against opium trafficking. But Colombia is not the model to follow.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what America’s top-ranking military officer, Gen. Peter Pace, recently called for, after the nomination of Washington’s current ambassador in Bogotá, William Wood, to be the new American ambassador in Kabul. An overly generous amnesty programme for right-wing paramilitary leaders and drug traffickers has seriously compromised the rule of law in Colombia. And US aid has been mostly directed into military programmes, leaving far too little to promote alternative livelihoods for Colombia’s farmers. Despite all the money spent, the amount of land planted with coca crops has risen and the harvest has not reduced.

Afghanistan’s problems will not be solved by copying these mistakes. With no visible help coming from Kabul or Washington toward alleviating crushing poverty, people in Afghanistan’s southern provinces are beginning to look favourably toward a resurgent Taliban. The significantly increased American aid package for Afghanistan announced last month needs to focus more on development. Wood needs to bring a different set of priorities to Afghanistan, not simply repeat the mistakes Washington has made in Colombia.