“Big resistance from the Karzai administration on that issue.”
Sad but true. If we were allowed to aggressively use herbicides to eradicate the illicit opium trade, we would succeed. It would defund the Taliban. However, the Karzai administration is too afraid of backlash by the average Joe (or Abdul) that relies on growing opium to feed his family. Because we recognize Afganistan sovereignty, we are stymied.
If we really wanted to do that we could have done it a long time ago.