On August 22, President Karzai attended the second conference on counter-narcotics at the Loya Jirga (Grand Council) in Kabul.

Addressing the conference, the President said: "As a nation, it is our duty to eradicate poppy cultivation.  It only brings shame to the noble people of Afghanistan.  The benefit of opium production does not go to ordinary Afghans, but to international mafia groups, terrorists, and the enemies of Afghanistan.  It is essential to destroy narcotics or it will destroy us."

He went on to say that the narcotics trade is a major enemy of the people because it funds the insurgency, and that if the international community loses its resolve in Afghanistan, it will be due to this narco-terrorist connection.

In making a direct connection between narcotics and Afghanistan's lack of progress, the President stated: "Poppy cultivation and terrorism hampered implementation of the vaccination program in some parts of Kandahar and Helmand provinces and that is why polio still exists in these areas. We must fight terrorism and narcotics for the sake of our children."

President Karzai urged cabinet members, governors, and members of Parliament to unite in the fight against narcotics and urged Afghanistan’s ulemas to speak out against the phenomenon.  He also called on the international community to increase its assistance to the alternative livelihood program.