BUSH: AFGHANISTAN DID NOT COOPERATE AGAINST DRUGS BUT U.S. AID WILL CONTINUE

WASHINGTON -- President Bush said today that Afghanistan "failed
demonstrably" in 2001 to cooperate in anti-narcotics efforts but that the
country nonetheless is entitled to receive U.S. assistance because of vital
American interests.

Bush made the announcement in a brief statement in which he evaluated the
performance of 23 countries involved in drug trafficking as producers,
transit points or both.

For years, Afghanistan had been disqualified from U.S. assistance because
it did not fully comply with international drug control standards. The
period of the administration's review ended at about the time the Taliban
militia was forced from office in December and replaced by a pro-Western
interim government.

Countries that fail to cooperate in the international anti-drug effort can
be the target of U.S. economic sanctions.

But well before today's announcement, the administration had been providing
the interim government in Kabul with assistance. Bush did not make clear in
his brief statement what the legal justification was for providing the
assistance since the government took office two months ago.

Of the 23 nations reviewed, all were found to be meeting international
anti-narcotics standards except Afghanistan, Myanmar and Haiti.

Bush ruled that Haiti also is entitled to a national-interest waiver,
meaning it is eligible for U.S. assistance.

There was no national-interest waiver for Myanmar, also known as Burma.
That means Myanmar will remain ineligible for assistance, as it has been
for years.

The 23 countries reviewed: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Mexico, Colombia,
Nigeria, Paraguay, the Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Jamaica, Laos, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Thailand,
Venezuela and Vietnam.