NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords
One wonders what certain elements of the CIA will have to say about this…
Paul Ames, Associated Press
Ocober 10, 2008
BUDAPEST, Hungary–NATO defence ministers have agreed to let their troops attack drug barons blamed for pumping up to US$100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.
“With regard to counter-narcotics … ISAF can act in concert with the Afghans against facilities and facilitators supporting the insurgency,” said NATO spokesperson James Appathurai, referring to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force.
The U.S. has pushed for NATO’s 50,000 troops to take on a counter-narcotics role to hit back at the Taliban, whose increasing attacks have cast doubt on the prospects of a western military victory in Afghanistan.
However, Germany, Spain and others were wary and their doubts led to NATO imposing conditions on the anti-drug mandate for ISAF.
Troops will only be able to act against drug facilities if authorized by their own governments; only drug producers deemed to be supporting the insurgency will be targeted; and the operation must be designed to be temporary – lasting only until the Afghan security forces are deemed able to take on the task.
The conditions are not unusual, as some countries already limit the use of their troops in Afghanistan, based on what are called caveats. The restrictions include how, where or when some troops will fight.
NATO defence ministers will review the success of the mission when they meet next February in Poland.
Despite the limitations, NATO’s top commander said the agreement gave him sufficient authority to act against the Taliban’s drug lord backers.
“We now have the ability to move forward in an area that affects the security and stability of Afghanistan,” said U.S. Gen. John Craddock. “It will allow us to reduce the funding and income to the insurgents.”
U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who pressed for the anti-drug effort, welcomed the NATO deal.
He said the U.S. and the British are interested in attacking the drug problem, along with some others whom he did not name.
Since the bulk of the drug problems are in the southern part of the country, he said it is likely troops there will be more involved in interdicting drugs than those in other locations.
Canada has about 2,500 troops on the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Most of them are in the southern Kandahar province.
Germany and Spain agreed to the anti-drug mission after an appeal for help from Afghanistan’s defence minister.
“We’ve asked NATO to please support us, support our effort in destroying the labs and also the interdiction of the drugs and the chemical precursors that are coming from outside the country for making heroin,” Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters after meeting his NATO counterparts yesterday.
Afghanistan supplies 90 per cent of the world’s heroin, a trade worth billions of dollars.
Until now, responsibility for dealing with the problem has lain with the Afghan police, but NATO commanders believe the fledgling force cannot cope with the problem. They say the time has come for NATO to move against the drug barons.
Some allies were concerned that a counter-narcotics campaign could spark a backlash against their troops, even if, as NATO commanders insist, the campaign will not target farmers who depend on growing opium poppies for a living.
They also feared that widening the mission could over-stretch the hard-pressed troops and undermine NATO’s long-term goal of handing more responsibility to Afghan forces.
However, German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said he was pleased with the compromise.
“We have to stop the financing of terrorism with drugs,” he told reporters.
Source | See Also: US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: up to $18B | Delta Force Officer: We Weren’t Allowed to Kill Osama Bin Laden | Victory impossible in Afghanistan: senior British commander | Defiant military watchdog widens detainee hearings | ‘Some’ Troops to stay in Afghanistan past 2011: McKay | CSIS faces review in Khadr case | Blackwater-linked firm to train Canadian troops | Canadian troops continue gearing up, to receive US counter-insurgency training | Asia’s new ‘great game’ is all about pipelines | MacKay dismisses Taliban threat as ‘propaganda’ | Controversial Kandahar governor replaced | America to assume command in Afghanistan | Canadian military acquiring new helicopters, drones | Low Level Driver Convicted Of Terror Charges While Bin Laden’s Senior Body Guard Was Let Go | Afghani Narco-state Continues to Blossom under Puppet President | Protesters push for Omar Khadr’s release | Obama promises 10,000 more troops for Afghanistan | Afghanistan suggests Pakistan responsible for embassy bombing | Canadian, NATO forces stood down during Afghan jailbreak | Canadian military silent on Afghan civilian deaths: UN investigator | US Counterinsurgency Manual Leaked, Calls for False Flag Operations, Suspension of Human Rights | Report: U.S. Gave Green Light For Taliban Prison Attack | Don’t look, don’t tell, troops told in response to Afghani child abuse | Post-traumatic stress disorder’s hidden scars | Over 100 complaints about access to govt. info on Afghan mission: report | Canada sets up new military spy unit | Bid to Block Afghan Detainee Inquiry Slammed | Army begins using $150,000 artillery shells | FBI documents contradict 9/11 Commission report | Truth or Terrorism? The Real Story Behind Five Years of High Alerts | 9/11 widows call for new investigation after revelations of White House, commission ties | Director of 9/11 commission “secretly spoke with Rove, White House” | Eight U.S. State Department Veterans Challenge the Official Account of 9/11 | Twenty-five U.S. Military Officers Challenge Official Account of 9/11 | Ex-Italian President: Intel Agencies Know 9/11 An Inside Job | Afghan poll not as clear as it seems | 9/11 – the big cover-up? | New Bin Laden Video: 100% Forgery | What Ottawa doesn’t want you to know: Government was told detainees faced ‘extrajudicial executions, disappearances, torture and detention without trial’ | The Lies that Led to War | U.S. Government Caught Red-Handed Releasing Staged Al-Qaeda Videos | US Allowed Taliban, Al-Qaeda Airlift Evacuation
October 19th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
[...] | See Also: NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: [...]
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:06 pm
[...] Video Tape Ignored | Cadman ‘bribe tape’ not altered as Harper claimed, expert finds | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Listeria reporting rule dropped before crisis | Why Paulson’s Plan is a Fraud | Canadian, [...]
December 4th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
[...] efforts in Khandahar not apparent to Afghanis | Peace activists demand Canada leave Afghanistan | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: [...]
January 5th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
[...] Robots To Detect “Non-cooperative Humans” | Peace activists demand Canada leave Afghanistan | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: up [...]
January 28th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
[...] efforts in Khandahar not apparent to Afghanis | Peace activists demand Canada leave Afghanistan | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: up [...]
February 4th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
[...] toll stands at 25 | Court rejects Ottawa’s bid to uphold federal medical marijuana monopoly | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Secret RCMP studies of Insite ideologically biased, advocates say | Karzai’s kin linked to [...]
March 19th, 2009 at 12:21 am
[...] efforts in Khandahar not apparent to Afghanis | Peace activists demand Canada leave Afghanistan | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: up [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 1:27 am
[...] efforts in Khandahar not apparent to Afghanis | Peace activists demand Canada leave Afghanistan | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: up [...]
April 24th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
[...] efforts in Khandahar not apparent to Afghanis | Peace activists demand Canada leave Afghanistan | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: up [...]
May 15th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
[...] efforts in Khandahar not apparent to Afghanis | Peace activists demand Canada leave Afghanistan | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | Afghan mission cost: up [...]
September 13th, 2009 at 1:32 am
[...] Afghan drug trade: top soldier | Reports reveal concerns over drug use among Canadian military | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Karzai’s kin linked to heroin trafficking | Afghani Narco-state Continues to Blossom under [...]
October 6th, 2009 at 5:45 am
[...] sacks Kandahar governor | US faces downward spiral in Afghan war, says leaked intelligence report | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Karzai’s kin linked to heroin trafficking | Afghani Narco-state Continues to Blossom under [...]
October 28th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
[...] Afghan drug trade: top soldier | Reports reveal concerns over drug use among Canadian military | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Karzai’s kin linked to heroin trafficking | Afghani Narco-state Continues to Blossom under [...]
November 14th, 2009 at 7:23 am
[...] Afghan drug trade: top soldier | Reports reveal concerns over drug use among Canadian military | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Karzai’s kin linked to heroin trafficking | ‘Reconstruction’ efforts in Khandahar not [...]
November 14th, 2009 at 7:44 am
[...] [...]
February 10th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
[...] toll stands at 25 | Court rejects Ottawa’s bid to uphold federal medical marijuana monopoly | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Secret RCMP studies of Insite ideologically biased, advocates say | Karzai’s kin linked to [...]
February 11th, 2010 at 3:23 pm
[...] Afghan drug trade: top soldier | Reports reveal concerns over drug use among Canadian military | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Karzai’s kin linked to heroin trafficking | ‘Reconstruction’ efforts in Khandahar not [...]
February 19th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
With a long, leaky border with Afghanistan and lawlessness inherited from a bloody 1992-1997 civil war, Tajikistan has long been a haven for drug smuggling out of Afghanistan which produces nearly all of the world’s opium, used to make heroin.
March 1st, 2010 at 11:04 am
[...] Afghan drug trade: top soldier | Reports reveal concerns over drug use among Canadian military | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Karzai’s kin linked to heroin trafficking | Afghani Narco-state Continues to Blossom under [...]
April 22nd, 2010 at 9:41 am
[...] [...]
May 28th, 2010 at 4:44 am
[...] Afghan drug trade: top soldier | Reports reveal concerns over drug use among Canadian military | NATO to let troops fight Afghan drug lords | Karzai’s kin linked to heroin trafficking | Afghani Narco-state Continues to Blossom under [...]