Pubdate: Wed, 17 Nov 2004 Source: BBC News (UK Web) Copyright: 2004 BBC Contact: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/558 Author: Jill McGivering, BBC State Department correspondent US TO TACKLE AFGHAN DRUGS TRADE The US has announced a major new offensive against drug production in Afghanistan. Washington expects to spend an extra $780m in the next financial year on measures including the eradication of poppies and alternatives for farmers. The drugs trade accounts for about a third of the country's economy. The new measures have been unveiled just before the UN is expected to release figures showing a dramatic increase in Afghanistan's drug trade. Primary concern US officials describe the new plan as a full-board commitment to support the new Afghan government in its battle against the growing drugs trade. Robert Charles, assistant secretary of state for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, described poppy cultivation as a primary, if not the primary, concern for the country. Asked why international initiatives had so far failed to arrest its growth, he highlighted the lack of basic legal infrastructure and the lack of people trained to destroy poppy fields. Now the US, with the UK and Afghan governments, is launching an accelerated programme to target next year's crop. Aggressive eradication would be backed up, Mr Charles said, by a public information campaign, better law enforcement and, perhaps most crucial, real alternatives for farmers. "You don't go in and eradicate in an area without making provision... for a marked up or added alternative development resources, or alternative livelihoods," he said. "That is a very important component of any comprehensive plan and that is what the Afghans want and that is what we are working very closely on to produce." Blossoming trade Some say lawlessness in key areas makes the implementation of such programmes impossible. Mr Charles said he did not foresee a radical new need for security. But he admitted it was a step-by-step process and they had to start by targeting areas secure enough for eradication teams to access. Afghanistan's blossoming drugs trade is causing increasing alarm. It is now the source of about 75% of the world's opium poppies. The trade fuels crime, international terrorism and political corruption. Until now US officials have focused more on the election process. With that over, they are free to give the drugs trade more attention. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D