Karzai and Opium

I was thinking about this report saying that the US government considers Hamid Karzai a major reason that opium eradication has not gone forth as planned by the US. Why do I think this is? Well, could it be that Karzai has bigger things to worry about than whether junkies on the streets of Portland can get their fix? Maybe it's because he knows that opium is the one way that a large number of Afghanis can actually make a living and doesn't want to take that away from them? Or could it be that he knows that his power is so tenuous that he can't afford to anger the warlords and drug runners who would be much more powerful than he is without the backing of the United States? I mean, really, did the US government really think that Karzai would be some kind of anti-drug crusader for the United States? What exactly is in it for him anyone.

If the US really wants to get rid of Afghan opium production, why not go for the one thing that has proven effective so far--the Taliban.