Expeditionary Eagles: Outmaneuvering the Taliban

The NATO contingent hasn't been forced from Afghanistan by Muslim radicals, but by drug runners. The Haqqani Network responsible for many of the highest visibility Kabul attacks is one of the oldest drug cartels in the region. With the supply of heroin on the rise in America and Europe, one has to wonder how much organized-crime lobbying had to do with the final defense strategy. Only with less smuggling of drugs out and ordnance in, can the problem be solved. Both have been broken down into easily concealable "pieces." All traffic along the 14 entrance highways must be better inspected to curtail their movement. Herein lies the most detailed study in existence of Pakistan's drug and militant madrasa networks. Also discussed is how a lone U.S. squad could--without a single artillery round or drone missile--rely on deception to defend a roadside outpost against hundreds of attacking narco-insurgents.