the American Empire would continue to protect the highly valued Afghan poppy crop necessary to generate massive illicit drug revenues that are used to fund the many black ops conducted by the U.S. Intelligence Community and Military worldwide.
Afghanistan is key to the broader Zio-Anglo-American strategy to keep Iran completely encircled by U.S. military bases and naval assets as seen on the map below. Each of these nations — U.S., U.K., and Israel — have made common cause to conquer Iran at all costs, although for different and some overlapping reasons.