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| DEA Targets Afghanistan in Drug War |
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Posted by FoM on March 14, 2002 at 12:04:44 PT By Kevin Freking, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 
Narcotics agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration could soon be working in Afghanistan for the first time in nearly two decades, but there are limits to what the agency can do about next month's harvest of opium, Asa Hutchinson, head of the DEA, told a Senate subcommittee Wednesday.That harvest will come primarily from the country's most war-torn and lawless regions and could be much larger than last year's harvest because the current government of Afghanistan has little power to enforce its ban on poppy cultivation and production. "There are security concerns. This is an enormously dangerous neck of the woods, as we say in Arkansas," Hutchinson said. "But we have DEA agents who are ready, willing and anxious to be there because it is so important to our nation." Hutchinson was on a panel that addressed the Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information. The topic was the worldwide connection between drugs and terrorism. Hutchinson said Afghanistan's interim president, Hamid Karzai, has renewed the Taliban's ban on poppy cultivation. But other countries will have to supply resources to enforce the ban. The law of supply and demand gives desperate farmers and drug dealers in Afghanistan the incentive to continue their efforts. Since last year, the price of opium has increased from about $30 a kilogram to about $330 a kilogram, according to DEA estimates. Hutchinson said a proposed DEA initiative called Operation Containment would open an office in Kabul and expand existing offices in Asia and Europe. The establishment of an office in Kabul can be paid for within the current DEA budget, but Congress would have to approve a transfer of funding. Lawmakers on the subcommittee said they would work to make that transfer happen as soon as possible. Martha Brill Olcott, senior associate for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the subcommittee that the United States has for too long ignored the security risks inherent in Afghanistan's drug trade. That's because most of those drugs went to Europe. "Prior to Sept. 11, it was difficult to convince U.S. policy-makers that Afghanistan's drug industry was a U.S. problem, and even now, we have no concrete strategy to deal with renewed drug cultivation in Afghanistan," Olcott said. The effectiveness of the current ban in Afghanistan depends upon the willingness of local warlords to go along, she said. "But these men have absolutely no incentive to do so, as they are able to tax the crop or its transit, depending upon what part of the country they are living in," she said. The United States and its allies have discussed paying farmers to grow other crops, or paying some of their expenses, but Olcott said that won't stop the drug trade. "Economic incentives will work for the farmers only if the country's elite is forced to cease collecting from this highly lucrative trade," she said. "As in all civilized countries, Afghanistan's drug dealers must be subject to arrest and lengthy incarceration. Pressing Hamid Karzai's government to punish Afghanistan's drug dealers will certainly cost it and us some friends." Hutchinson said the DEA's focus is on fighting drug trafficking, but the agency's growth in war-torn regions of the world, such as in the Middle East and Asia, will help the agency gather more intelligence that can be used in the war on terrorism. The president has requested an additional $35 million and 73 positions for next year to enhance intelligence gathering by the DEA. Related Articles: Poppy Plant Returns to Afghanistan Kabul Bans Opium Poppy Growing, Trafficking DEA Administrator Testifies on Taliban and Drugs Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #3 posted by Chronwell on March 14, 2002 at 13:27:49 PT:
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| This same man, Asa Hutchinson, the fearless drug-war man from Arakansas stood during the 1980s by while tons of coke were flown into Bill Clinton's CIA airport in Mena, AR. Now he will go to Afghanistan and dictate "drug policy" to Asians when he and Ill Bill were basically cooperating with men selling coke to American citizens. Check out whatreallyhappened.com for more on the Mena, AR airport. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #2 posted by Chronwell on March 14, 2002 at 13:27:12 PT:
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| This same man, Asa Hutchinson, the fearless drug-war man from AK stood during the 1980s by while tons of coke were flown into Bill Clinton's CIA airport in Mena, AR. Now he will go to Afghanistan and dictate "drug policy" to Asians when he and Ill Bill were basically cooperating with men selling coke to American citizens. Check out whatreallyhappened.com for more on the Mena, AR airport. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by Chronwell on March 14, 2002 at 13:25:50 PT:
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| This same man, Asa Hutchison, the fearless drug-war man from AK stood during the 1980s by while tons of coke were flown into Bill Clinton's CIA airport in Mena, AK. Now he will go to Afghanistan and dictate "drug policy" to Asians when he and Ill Bill were basically cooperating with men selling coke to American citizens. Check out whatreallyhappened.com for more on the Mena, AK airport. [ Post Comment ] |
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