ISLAMABAD -- This month's warning by the United Nations' main drug-monitoring watchdog that Afghanistan is in danger of becoming a narcotics-driven state should hardly come as a surprise.

More than three years since the United States began its "war on terror" as well as its campaign to militarily support a pro-U.S. regime in Kabul, the economy of this war-battered Central Asian country remains in tatters, providing ample opportunity for those in the narcotics business to use their massive profits to buy off individuals in a range of positions.

From Afghan security officials and the police to small-time farmers and daily wage laborers, it's not difficult to find people who are tempted to join a gang of drug traffickers.