By Martin Banks - 6th October 2008
The Afghan government has the responsibility to tackle the drugs problem but cannot do it alone
Nato SACEUR General John Craddock on the Afghan drugs trade
Senior Nato commander General John Craddock has said the organisation needs an “expanded authority” to take on the drugs trade in Afghanistan, but questioned if the political will exists to allow it.
Craddock, the alliance’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, said he has asked for expanded authority from Nato to permit the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), currently at about 50,000 troops, to target laboratories and drug trafficking facilities in the country.
“I believe the overarching strategy of the international community is correct, but we must find a way to enhance our comprehensive approach. We need a cohesive and coherent effort and we must define the role of our alliance in the new and evolving security environment,” he said at a conference on Afghanistan’s future on Monday.
“Nato can play a profound role in crisis prevention and resolution. The nations of Nato have the political ambition to achieve a crisis response mandate but do we have the political will to match that ambition?”
He admitted the current situation in the country was “challenging” but insisted that success will not be achieved by military means alone. “Rather, it will be secured by governance and development,” he told the conference, organised by the Brussels-based think tank, Security and Defence Agenda.
Craddock called for a “comprehensive approach” to bringing about stability in war-torn Afghanistan.
Such an approach could involve, he argues, the development of so-called provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs).
“I see PRTs evolving, perhaps into PSTs - provincial stabilisation teams, teams that have a greater focus on the civil aspects of governance and law and order - aspects that are key to long-term stability in Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan produces about 90 per cent of the world’s illegal opium, and another critical element of defeating insurgency in the country, he said, is eradication of the profits from the lucrative trade.
Craddock said, “Success in Afghanistan is linked to the role the alliance will have in the future, but this conflict is not uniquely Nato’s to win or lose. Rather, it is for the government of Afghanistan and the international community to win or lose.
“We all have a job to do, but these jobs certainly overlap and we must work together - and counter-narcotics is an example. The Afghan government has the responsibility to tackle the drugs problem but cannot do it alone.”
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