Hard to believe, but there are still swathes of land in Afghanistan where no American soldier has ever set foot. Many of these troubled territories are in the heart of opium country, where the Taliban harvests the main ingredient for heroin that it exports around the world. Now, as part of Obama's effort to regain the upper hand in the war in Afghanistan, he is sending troops deep into the Taliban's "financial engine." The army is expecting heavy combat throughout the summer as the insurgents "vigorously defend" their precious cash crop which yields as much as $300 million a year. But it doesn't look like the troops will have to wait until entering the new territories to see a surge in attacks: A Taliban leader has promised a new offensive against the fragile government of Afghanistan.
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