British Back U.S. Drug Proposal

Britain will back the U.S. proposal for a drug agency that is not
controlled by the International Olympic Committee. Barry McCaffrey, head of
the White House drug policy office, is touring Europe to build support for
an independent international agency to lead the fight against
performance-enhancing drugs.

McCaffrey opposes the IOC' s plans for such an agency, contending it would
lack independence and accountability. But the IOC said Tuesday it plans to
set up its agency next month and have it operating by the end of the year.

In a joint statement after a two-day meeting in London with British
anti-drugs coordinator Keith Hellawell, Britain endorsed McCaffrey' s five
principles:

an independent and accountable anti-drug agency.

testing on a year-round, no-notice basis.

no statute of limitations for drug offenses.

preservation of samples so they can be tested years later when new
detection techniques are developed.

advanced research.

McCaffrey will present his plan in Belgium on Wednesday to the European
Commission. On Thursday, he will meet in Portugal with drug policy
officials of the 15 European Union countries.

In an interview, McCaffrey said he hopes to enlist European opposition to
the IOC plan.

" If we don' t act, we' re going to have a Swiss corporation, the
International Olympic Committee, assert that they can unilaterally decide
on a drug-testing agency that won' t in fact be independent and probably
won' t achieve the results and won' t have credibility with the world' s
athletes, " he said.

McCaffrey said the agency will only be independent if it has " the ability
to act without being a wholly owned subsidiary to the IOC."

He said he expects support from Britain, France, Germany, Canada and
Australia at a 26-nation drug summit in Australia next month

" We' re not looking for a fight, " he said, " but clearly we have a heavy
responsibility. ... I can' t imagine we' re going to continue to ignore a
situation that we think is untenable."

McCaffrey said he would be happy to meet with IOC president Juan Antonio
Samaranch. And despite the standoff, he said he expects the sides can work
together and reach some sort of consensus.

" At the end of the day, I have a feeling that rational thought will win
out, " McCaffrey said. " I can' t imagine there isn' t going to be a
sensible outcome."

IOC spokesman Franklin Servan-Schreiber said Tuesday the IOC was going
forward with its agency with or without McCaffrey' s approval. He said the
agency, set up as a Swiss foundation, will start Nov. 10 with the
appointment of a board of directors.

Servan-Schreiber said European sports ministers had responded favorably to
the IOC project, and the EU' s new sports commissioner, Viviane Reding,
will meet with Samaranch in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Nov. 2.

The spokesman said the IOC could not control the agency because the
24-member board would include only three representatives from the IOC.

" There has never been any question of the IOC controlling the agency, "
Servan-Schreiber said. " And the claim that the IOC should not be involved
at all seems to us a little unfair considering we were the ones who stepped
up to the plate."

The agency will initially be located in Lausanne. Other cities expressing
interest in serving as headquarters include Athens, Greece; Lille, France;
Lisbon, Portugal; Luxembourg; Madrid, Spain; and Vienna, Austria.