Afghanistan/Iran: God, Gas and Heroin. Now, the Fight’s over Water

Feb 6, 2020 | Stefanie Glinski, LA Times
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Men across this windblown, lawless desert have fought over opium, God and gasoline, but now a wheat farmer with a shovel and a rifle, senses a war brewing over water. The conflict runs along the dangerous border between Afghanistan and Iran, where the Helmand River winds like an existential thread through two troubled lands. The nearly complete Kamal Khan dam would provide Afghan farmers with steady irrigation flows in dry seasons. But Iran, claiming the dam may significantly reduce its downriver water supply, is seeking to undermine the project.