The U.S.-backed strategy to fight Afghanistan’s massive drug trade has been unsuccessful in stemming opium cultivation, which is expected to hit record levels this year, a senior U.S. official said Thursday. “It’s bad news and we need to improve it,” said Thomas Schweich, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for international narcotics. “But we don’t feel it’s a hopeless situation, and we don’t think the overall strategy is the wrong strategy.” Full Story