MORE MONEY FOR ANTI-DRUG FIGHT

The Cooperative Relationship Between The Bahamas And The United
States Was Underlined On Friday By A $100,000 Donation To The
Bahamas' Anti-Drug Effort - It Brings The Amount Of Cash
Contributions Under A Bilateral Counter-Narcotics Agreement To More
Than $4 Million.

The cooperative relationship between The Bahamas and the United
States was underlined on Friday by a $100,000 donation to The
Bahamas' anti-drug effort -- it brings the amount of cash
contributions under a bilateral counter-narcotics agreement to more
than $4 million.

On Friday, US Charge D'Affairs Dr. Brent Hardt and Deputy Prime
Minister Brent Symonette signed an amendment to the original
agreement on counter narcotics between The Bahamas and the US to
provide $100,000 those efforts.

The funds will be used to provide training, equipment and support to
the Royal Bahamas Police Force's Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU).

This brings the total amount provided by the United States to the
Bahamas to $4.2 million since the original letter, which was signed
on September 25, 2001.

Embassy officials also reported that over the past three years over
1100 Bahamian officials received 175,000 man-hours at a cost of
nearly $5 million.

The funds are donated every year. Dr. Hardt explained how the funds
are provided.

"We make a budget every year so we can't make long term on things,"
he said. "Every year we make a request and we go off to our State
Department to determine what the needs are worldwide," he said.

"There are decision makers in that bureau that control the funding
and if they decide that their priorities is not the Western
Hemisphere and their priorities are in the Middle East then the
funding will go there."

Dr. Hardt said that department also determines the amount of funding
that goes to the war on terrorism.

"The flows in Afghanistan tends to go more to Europe and other
places and it affects us indirectly because it feeds terrorism," he
said. "We have to balance all of these factors out. We want to keep
drugs out of the United States but we also don't want to fuel terrorism."

Minister Symonette explained what the funding does for the Bahamas.

"As we continue to strengthen our resources whether it be through
OPBAT or the police or the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, the
assistance we have received here today will strengthen those
operations," he said. "It is not a static operation."

Dr. Hardt also pointed to the ongoing challenges to keep drugs out
of both The Bahamas and the United States.

"Drug dealers are always coming up with innovative new ways to
circumvent the efforts we have place to get drugs to come through,"
Dr. Hardt said.

"Drugs are now harder to find because persons are able to get them
on to commercial crafts. We have to see what the route is and figure
out ways to make that. It's just a constant cat and mouse game. But
we have been very successful in reducing the flow of drugs from 70
percent in the 1980's to ten percent now."

In addition to the funds received on Friday, embassy officials
reported the United States Southern Command through Operation
Enduring Friendship will provide over $4 million in boats equipment
and training to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force this fiscal year.