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Poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has played an increasingly important role in virtually all aspects of Afghan society. From 2005 to 2007, opium cultivation nearly doubled, from 104,000 hectares (ha) to 193,000 hectares.1 Production peaked in 2007, resulting in an estimated 8,200 tons of opium, an increase of 34 percent over the previous year.2 There is a symbiotic relationship between the drug trade and the insurgency.
Regional Command Capital (RC Capital) comprises Kabul city and fourteen districts of Kabul province: Bagrami, Chahar Asyab, Deh Sabz, Farza, Guldara, Istalif, Kalakan, Khaki Jabar, Mir Bacha Kot, Mussahi, Paghman, Qarabagh, Shakardara, and Sorubi. With an area of 4,462 square kilometers (1,723 sq. miles), Kabul province is slightly smaller than Delaware. The provincial population is 3,450,000,1 and more than two million live in Kabul city.
This document describes the American forces available for deployment to Afghanistan in the coming year.