Share this story Close X Switch to Desktop Site  Afghan
corruption, opium, and the strange case of Kam Air  (Read
article summary)  Andrew Burton/Reuters  (Read caption) A US
Army Blackhawk helicopter flies above Kandahar Province,
Afghanistan, Tuesday. The US military blacklisted Kam Air, an
airline owned by a politically-connected Afghan businessman, for
opium smuggling.  About these ads     The release outlines a
Feb. 2 meeting between senior officials in the Afghan government
and the US military in Kabul. There, "US military officials
explained why they had recommended the [blacklist] designation
to the commander of CENTCOM," or the US Central Command based in
Tampa, which is in operational control of the Afghanistan
mission. The brief statement makes no explanation as to why the
Afghan government's arguments were convincing, though it implies
that questions of Afghan sovereignty were crucial.  "The CENTCOM
commander made the decision to suspend the 841 designation
because he believes it is an appropriate