NATO TROOPS DRAFTED FOR ANTI-DRUG WAR

Heroin Trade; Take Action Against Operations Tied To
Insurgency

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - The product is hidden in transport trucks, hauled
on the back of donkeys and finally spirited through villages that
straddle Afghanistan's northern border.

Being part of the world's largest heroin industry certainly has its
benefits, but the work, says one Afghan drug smuggler, is no walk in
the park.

To move narcotics from Afghanistan's Pashtun belt -- where Canadian
troops operate -- to Tajikistan, smugglers risk arrest by the police,
theft at the hands of other criminals or worse, says the Kabulbased
courier, who asked not to be named.

"First, you sign your death certificate, then you start working," the
smuggler said in a recent interview, as he nervously smoked one
cigarette after another. "People are hungry. They will kill you if
they know you carry a big amount of money."

Such traffickers may soon have another danger to worry about, too. A
new NATO policy adopted last month would see troops from Canada and
other countries play a bigger role in combating Afghanistan's massive
heroin trade, effectively ending the alliance's standoff approach to
the issue.

The idea is that NATO soldiers would go after narcotics operations
when there is some indication they are tied to the insurgency.

A graphic illustration of that link came recently in the south of
Kandahar province. U. S. and Afghan troops were searching an area
known for its insurgent activity when they stumbled on a drug factory
and 40 tons of hashish.

Last month, U. S. police charged a Kandahar-based man with conspiracy
to traffic drugs to support terrorism, alleging that he had financed
the Taliban.

"The government of Afghanistan has been saying for the last two years
that NATO has to be involved in [drug] operations on the ground," said
Zalmai Aszali, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of
Counter-narcotics.

"The bullet coming out of the barrel of the AK-47 of the insurgents is
being financed by drug traffickers."

Much has been made lately of the reduced poppy harvest this year, but
Afghanistan still produces more than 90% of the world's heroin, and
NATO estimates that $50-million to $200-million of the proceeds flow
to the insurgents annually. Millions more feed the corruption that
eats away at the weak Afghan government.

NATO members agreed last month to begin more aggressively combating
drug smugglers and factories -- though not farmers -- if a link to the
insurgency is shown.

But how the new NATO agreement will affect troops on the ground is
still being hammered out, Canadian and alliance officials say.

Under the previous rules, NATO forces could attack civilians involved
in the heroin industry to aid "force protection" -- in other words, if
the troops were threatened directly by the drug gangs -- said
Brigadier-Geneneral Richard Blanchette, a spokesman for the
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the alliance's Afghan
mission.

Under the new rules, they can get involved based on a less-definitive
connection between heroin gangs and insurgents, he said.

"If there is a link but it's on the line ... in some cases, we would
now be allowed to take action," he said.

Mr. Aszali said the government would like Canadian and other
international troops to attack the fast-moving drug convoys, which
often use late-model SUVs that can outrun the police.

Protection for the anti-narcotics police as they crack down on heroin
operations would also be appreciated, since more than 70 of them have
died in clashes with the heavily armed cartels, he said. Also,
satellite and other technology used by NATO could aid in uncovering
secret routes smugglers use.