SPECIAL FORCES MOVES INTO DRUG WAR

British Forces Take Exception To NATO Reluctance For Action

Helmand Province

British special forces are conducting covert operations against drug
smugglers in southern Afghanistan for the first time.

The operations represent a shift from the British military's long-held
opposition to direct involvement in Afghanistan's drugs war. British
special forces in Helmand province had previously been limited to
targeting members of the Taliban leadership.

The operations are being conducted at night with members of Battalion
333, a secretive unit from the elite Afghan counter-narcotics police.

NATO commanders have long been resistant to taking a direct role in
the drugs war,
arguing it would undermine the central plank of the alliance's
counter-insurgency
strategy in Afghanistan: the need to win the support of the Afghan populace.

However, this position has faced increasing pressure from Afghan and
western counter-narcotics officials as well as the United Nations, all
of whom argue the interests of the Taliban insurgency and narcotics
criminals are inextricably entwined in Helmand.

The dangers in the new British strategy have already been highlighted
by the killing of an alleged drug smuggler and his six-year-old son in
Helmand last week in an operation believed to have been undertaken by
the Special Boat Service.

The incident was not reported by the Ministry of Defence.

The deaths occurred in Nad Ali, one of the few areas of relative
government support in the province, and led to widespread protests and
anger against British forces.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a state visit to
Britain next week, is to underline his country's commitment to NATO
allies with an expected pledge of an extra 1,000 soldiers to
Afghanistan, senior ministers have confirmed to The Times.

Mr. Sarkozy is said to be still deciding whether the extra troops
should be sent to the south to fight alongside the Canadians or east
to the border with Pakistan. In the latter scenario, the presence of
French troops would allow the U.S. troops currently policing the
border to be sent south.

France already has 1,900 soldiers in Afghanistan.