This Is the War That Destroyed China (And Could Be the Reason for Another Big War)

It was a good write up until the author stated - "Stating the historical record so plainly is shocking — but it’s true, and the consequences of that act are still being felt today."
As if this was a new revelation. For most of us older folks we learned this in school, for me it was in World History in Junior High (Middle School for you younger folks). We even learned about US involvement in the conflict. It is quite telling that writers for the NY Times in 1997 tried to insinuate that there was a hidden history to the conflicts and titled their article - The Opium War's Secret History. But by then it sounds as if the information had been dropped from our History education curriculum. (That is quite telling in and of itself.)
The author then goes on to state - "American ships carrying Turkish-grown opium joined in the narcotics bonanza in the early 1800s. Consumption of opium in China skyrocketed, as did profits."
And then we get eventually to the end of this dialog and find no where in the article information to support the added contention in the title of - (And Could Be the Reason for Another Big War). And these people at The National Interest want and are trying to convince us that the are a roundtable for Foreign Policy Experts?
Background is fine, but at least make an effort to support the thesis as represented by the title.

Drugs then.....