Pubdate: Tue, 26 Feb 2002
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2002 News World Communications, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Author: Nicholas Kralev, The Washington Times

BUSH LIFTS NARCOTICS SANCTIONS ON AFGHANISTAN

The United States yesterday waived narcotics sanctions against Afghanistan 
to bolster the government of interim leader Hamid Karzai, despite the 
nation's failure to curb drug production and trafficking.

In a letter to Congress, President Bush said "vital national interests" had 
prompted him to use a waiver provision in U.S. law that requires penalties 
for countries that are either major narcotics producers or traffickers.

"Stabilizing Afghanistan by providing various forms of assistance, 
including economic and military assistance in addition to counternarcotics, 
anti-crime and humanitarian assistance is essential," he said.

Mr. Bush's decision came after an annual review of the world's main 
drug-producing and transiting countries.

Out of 23 nations, the administration has designated three - Haiti and 
Burma, in addition to Afghanistan - as having failed to cooperate with 
Washington in the war on drugs.

But only Burma will continue to suffer from economic sanctions, which 
include a ban on receiving U.S. aid and a block on borrowing from 
international financial institutions.

Rand Beers, assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and 
law enforcement affairs, said lifting Afghan sanctions reflects 
Washington's support for Mr. Karzai.

"This is not a judgment with respect to the current administration, it's 
with respect to the past," Mr. Beers told reporters at the State 
Department. He cited a series of steps Mr. Karzai has taken to halt drug 
production, including offering farmers incentives to grow alternative crops.

About 70 percent of the world's raw opium supply flowed through Afghanistan 
in 2000, according to the United Nations.

The Taliban government, which ruled Afghanistan until being ousted this 
fall, had banned poppy cultivation for "moral" reasons but did little to 
curb production and trafficking.

Although Mr. Karzai has done essentially what the Taliban did, the Bush 
administration has decided to give him time to implement anti-drug measures.

The interim government, unlike the Taliban, has also promised to work with 
the United States.

"It is in the vital national interests of the United States to provide the 
full range of U.S. assistance to Afghanistan," Mr. Bush said in a 
"statement of justification" for the sanctions waiver.

In his letter to Congress, Mr. Bush said U.S. aid is also important for 
Haiti, where the rule of law, education, environmental and health programs 
would suffer from sanctions.

The president accused Burma of doing too little to crack down on the 
production of both opium and methamphetamine.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan's Mr. Karzai sought support in neighboring Iran for 
his fledgling administration, thanking Tehran for helping Afghanistan fight 
terrorism and throw off the yoke of Soviet occupation more than a decade ago.

Speaking to the Iranian Majis, or parliament, in Farsi - the language of 
Iran and western and central Afghanistan - Mr. Karzai assured Iranians the 
Afghan people would not forget.

Mr. Karzai, whose speech was broadcast live on state-run radio, also 
praised Iran for taking in some 2 million Afghan refugees over the years.

After repeated charges by Washington that Tehran was sending fighters and 
money into Afghanistan to destabilize the post-Taliban leadership, Mr. Bush 
declared that Iran, Iraq and North Korea form an "axis of evil" that seeks 
weapons of mass destruction and supports terrorism.

Mr. Karzai was hailed in the United States last month when he visited Mr. 
Bush and other dignitaries. The interim leader was sitting in the gallery 
of the House when Mr. Bush made the "axis of evil" assertion in his Jan. 29 
State of the Union speech.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom