Viagra is making a quiet yet great contribution to CIA’s fight against Taliban in Afghanistan.
CIA agents in West Asian country gave Viagra as a present to Afghan tribal elders to secure Taliban information as part of its war against terrorism there, the Washington Post reported Friday.
“It could be a silver bullet to make connections to the older ones," said one retired CIA operative familiar with the drug use in Afghanistan, according to the newspaper.
Although the former Soviet spy service was notorious for using attractive women as bait when seeking to turn foreign diplomats into informants, for a 60-year-old Afghan chieftain, who has four younger wives, for example, Viagra was the best choice as the present to secure information, the newspaper said.
The clan leader in southern Afghanistan who had been wary of Americans was neither supportive nor actively opposed. The U.S. forces needed his cooperation and worked hard to win it because he had extensive knowledge of the region and his village controlled key passages through the area.
A CIA agent visited him and gave him four pills of Viagra. The enticement worked. The officer returned four days later to an enthusiastic reception.
"He came up to us beaming," the official said." He said, 'You are a great man.' "
The grinning chief offered up a bonanza of information about Taliban movements and supply routes ― followed by a request for more pills.