Maybe not failings as such ?
From a report on CBC...
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2001/07/0 ... 10704.html
...on 4th June 2001 (3 months before 9/11) the United Nations Drug Control Program says...
"The world's biggest heroin producing country, Afghanistan, has gone out of the drug business."
Funny then that the UN in todays report (link at top) put sole blame on the Taleban for increasing cultivation...A UNDCP report to be released next month will say Afghanistan has completely eradicated cultivation of the opium poppy, the plant producing the resin which is refined into heroin.
An interesting graphic from another link off this BBC story...The UN report links the Taleban to the increase in opiate production.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/6957238.stm

I don't think stuff like this happens by chance, I would like to hear others comments.