Wooing Warlords With Viagra

The CIA has new tool when it comes to winning friends among Afghanistan’s older male population: Viagra. U.S. Intelligence officials have used the little blue pill and other novel incentives to gain support in some of the country’s toughest areas. Long known for exchanging cash for information, the CIA’s operatives have created allies by offering up pocketknives, tools, medicine, surgeries for family members, travel visas and yes, even libido enhancement. "Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people—whether it's building a school or handing out Viagra," said one agency operative. The less flashy incentives play better in a country where a chunk of cash can draw unwanted attention, leading to an informant who is no longer privy to valuable information or, in some cases, dead.