According to the BBC, the CIA has come up with a surprisingly effective inducement to get information for warlords in Afghanistan: Trade them Viagra. The younger tribal leaders know about the drug already, but the older chiefs often don't, and for them, it's a godsend. "In one case, a 60-year-old warlord with four wives was given four pills and four days later detailed Taliban movements in return for more," says the BBC. An agent involved in the trade went into more detail. This particular warlord was in his 60s, and had four younger wives. The pills were explained, and offered. Four days later, the agent say, "He came up to us beaming. He said, 'You are a great man." Only one question. As my friend Jesse Singal e-mails, is this hard power or soft power? THE LITTLE BLUE PILL GOES TO WAR.
According to the BBC, the CIA has come up with a surprisingly effective inducement to get information for warlords in Afghanistan: Trade them Viagra. The younger tribal leaders know about the drug already, but the older chiefs often don't, and for them, it's a godsend. "In one case, a 60-year-old warlord with four wives was given four pills and four days later detailed Taliban movements in return for more," says the BBC. An agent involved in the trade went into more detail. This particular warlord was in his 60s, and had four younger wives. The pills were explained, and offered. Four days later, the agent say, "He came up to us beaming. He said, 'You are a great man." Only one question. As my friend Jesse Singal e-mails, is this hard power or soft power? 
