During 2000-1 in Afghanistan, the Taliban achieved a longtime goal of national and international drug policy agencies: a large, sudden, and unanticipated reduction in world opium production. This cutback provides an unprecedented opportunity to study the dynamics of the world opiate market and ask whether further interventions could effectively reduce the flows of drugs. Based on an extended, multi-national study, the authors construct a new model for the trafficking of drugs and revenues and offer the first account of the world market in heroin and other illicit opiates during and after the 2001 ban. The authors' broader findings demonstrate how robust production, trafficking, and consumption combine to make successful long-term interventions on the supply-side rare exceedingly difficult, though specific policies can impact the organization and behavior of markets. For reductions in both production and consumption, where the cultivation of opium is entrenched in the normal life and legitimate economy of millions of people, international agencies and foreign governments must provide adequate and long-term support to foster both alternative development policies and law enforcement programs.

An examination of the effects of consolidation and globalization on the aerospace defense industry. The increasing consolidation of the defense aerospace industry, brought about by post-Cold War reductions in defense authorizations, has led to the proliferation of cross-border relationships between U.S. and European firms. This report examines aerospace industry globalization trends with a view toward determining how the U.S. Air Force can best exploit such trends while minimizing their risks. It concludes that further research must be done to ascertain how the advantages of globalization, such as increased competition and interoperability, can best be achieved without compromising security concerns. [AF]