Gerald Posner, a reporter with good ties in the CIA (to put it charitably) has an interesting article in the Daily Beast titled The Taliban's Heroin Ploy. Now it is fairly clear that the Taliban is not the major player in the Afghan heroin trade. Reports indicate that the Taliban earns from $90-$160 million dollars taxing the multi-billion dollar heroin trade. Posner's source is "a U.S. intelligence official." It seems the Taliban want to get our troops hooked on heroin which makes sense tactically but will probably happen with or without the Taliban's involvement.
There is no mention of the CIA in the article or its possible involvement in the drug trade. Posner does make a good point though:
The Daily Beast has learned that the DEA, which has the responsibility for developing major drug cases inside Afghanistan, does not have any American service personnel currently serving in Afghanistan or Iraq under a drug-related investigation..
This does not cover the more than 18,000 private armed security contractors, such as Blackwater and Armor Group, now working in those countries under Pentagon control. Some in the Afghan Ministry of Anti-Narcotics believe the private mercenaries might have more incentive and means to deal in heroin
