Viagra: The CIA’s Secret Weapon in Afghanistan

Posted by Jacob Goldstein Dec 26^th, WPJ

 The political landscape in Afghanistan is tricky. In many areas, local leaders switch sides readily, depending on who is offering them the best deal.

That’s made U.S. operatives in the country look for a wide range of potential inducements — including Viagra, the Washington Post reports.

“You didn’t hand it out to younger guys, but it could be a silver bullet to make connections to the older ones,” one retired operative told the paper. The drug isn’t given out that widely in the country, but it can prove especially useful for aging leaders with several younger wives.

The article tells the story of one 60-something clan leader with four wives, who was neither supportive of nor actively opposed to American operations in his region. But a few days after an American official gave the man four Viagra pills, the chief “came up to us beaming,” the official told the WaPo. “He said, ‘You are a great man.’ ”

“And after that,” the official said, “we could do whatever we wanted in his area.”