THE MIAMI HERALD
Friday, October 27, 2006
OPIUM
We need a Plan Afghanistan
BY ROBERT WEINER
www.weinerpublic.com
AND RICHARD BANGS
Here's an issue that needs strong focus as the election approaches: Afghanistan has experienced record highs for opium crops and now supplies 92 percent of the world's heroin-producing opium according to the United Nations. Afghanistan has increased its opium production 60 percent in the last year -- under our watch -- after the White House promised progress and a decrease.
Protecting crops
According to an indictment of Afghanistan's Bashir Noorzai, after his capture on April 23, 2005, in New York City, ''The Noorzai organization provided demolitions, weaponry and manpower to the Taliban in Afghanistan. In exchange for its support, the Taliban provided the Noorzai organization with protection for its opium crops.'' The indictment cites the group's manufacture and distribution of more than 500 kilograms of heroin processed from opium grown in Afghanistan.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy 2006 National Strategy points out that Afghanistan's ``illegal-drug economy contributes to an environment of corruption and instability that can foster insurgent and terrorist organizations that threaten the democratically elected Afghan Government.''
But a policy statement without real action is inexcusable, particularly in this case. As far back as Sept. 20, 2001, President Bush declared -- and he and the Administration often repeat the claim -- ''We will starve terrorists of funding.'' Apparently that has not been a priority against Terrorist No. 1, Osama bin Laden.
Afghanistan has become a narco-state funding the Taliban, bin Laden and al Qaeda. Now it appears that we're passing the buck to Afghanistan and NATO.
On April 5, John Walters, the current White House Drug Policy director, commented, ``While eradication and interdiction of drug producers and traffickers is primarily a law-enforcement role for Afghan forces, the International Security Assistance Force [of NATO] can play a valuable support role centered on security and logistics.''
Home of our worst enemy
Last year, a State Department memo blamed Karzai for unwillingness ''to assert strong leadership'' and Britain as ''substantially responsible'' for Afghanistan's opium production. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice even said, ``The British, of course, have the lead on this to help the Afghans to root out narcotics.''
We are essentially saying, ''Anybody but us.'' What happened to our earlier priority of defunding al Qaeda? Isn't this a task we should tackle ourselves?
When we are fighting in Iraq with seven times the troops we have committed in Afghanistan (140,000 versus 20,000), we are essentially ignoring the place where our worst enemy resides and plots against us. In addition, the strategy of deflecting the drug issue to others who ignore it defeats our very purpose of stopping the funding of the terrorists.
This is not the first war on drugs the United States has dealt with, just possibly the most mismanaged. Under President Clinton and former drug czar Barry McCaffrey, the White House Drug Office worked with the government of Colombia to create Plan Colombia, which has reduced Colombia's coca production by more than 50 percent in five years, and cocaine use in the United States is 30 percent of what it was in the late '70s and early '80s. Now we need a Plan Afghanistan.
For national security
One reason for U.S. apprehension is a series of reports from generals in the field that if we eradicate the opium in Afghanistan, which accounts for some 40 percent of the GDP, we will destabilize the economy of the county.
When did the lifestyle of the Afghan farmer become more of a concern than the safety of U.S. citizens? Our reason for being there is our own national security.
With reports that drug abuse is also rising dramatically in Afghanistan, we've created a nation as high as its mountains, which may hide our own greatest killer. However, based on the U.S. response to date, apparently the drugs funding bin Laden aren't a big enough problem to warrant our focus.
Robert Weiner is the former spokesman for the White House National Drug Policy Office and former chief of staff for Rep. Claude Pepper, D-Fla. Richard Bangs is a senior policy analyst with Robert Weiner Associates.