U.S. CHIEF IN AFGHANISTAN: TROOPS NEEDED TO FIGHT DRUG TRADE

WASHINGTON - The commander of U.S. - led forces in Afghanistan said
Tuesday he may need more troops in the months ahead if the army starts
fighting a war on opium.

Lt. Gen. David Barno told reporters at the Pentagon that the Defense
Department is considering an expanded role in snuffing out
Afghanistan's opium trade, which has blossomed since the fall of the
Taliban regime. American troops would probably help with interdiction,
while the British concentrates on eradicating poppy fields, he said.

Fighting illegal drugs is one of the main tasks that could grow as the
U.S. military re-examines its role in Afghanistan for the next year.
The Army is already busy keeping the peace and might need more people
on the ground to help with a drug mission, Gen. Barno acknowledged.
But he said he does not foresee any big increases in U.S. forces.

"Clearly we have a full plate right now with the operations we're
doing around the country," Gen. Barno said. But he dismissed the idea
of doubling troop levels, saying that would be "counterproductive,"
and said he already has the flexibility he needs to bring in air power
or other resources temporarily.

"I certainly don't see a need to build out the base beyond what we
have now, which is working very well, "Gen. Barno said.

The shortcomings of the mission in Afghanistan have come to the
surface in the presidential election, with Democratic challenger Sen.,
John F. Kerry, D-Mass., accusing the Bush administration of letting
Osama bin Laden and associates escape into the mountains near
Pakistan, and of painting too rosy a picture of the country's progress.

Still, the country's first democratic elections were held earlier this
month without the widespread violence some critics predicted. About
8.4 million voters participated.

Simply holding an election was a "significant defeat for the Taliban
and Al Qaida, "Gen. Barno said.

The United States and allies have 18,000 troops on the ground, which
Gen., Barno said "has been a good number for us." In his year in
command there, he said, he has never believed his own resources were
stretched because of the Army's bigger mission in Iraq.

But the failure to catch Osama bin Laden has been a blemish on the
Army, especially since Gen. Barno said in January that he expected bin
Laden to be captured by the end of this year. That statement was
repeated by Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, then an Army spokesman in
Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division.

Asked if he still stood by his earlier statement, Gen. Barno replied,
"I returned my crystal ball and I don't make predictions anymore."

Gen. Barno said he sees no evidence that bin Laden is still in
day-to-day charge of Al Qaida or other terrorist networks. But he
added that terrorist organizations clearly adapt to the changing world
around them. He dismissed speculation that the absence of any public
statements lately by bin Laden suggests he may be dead.

The Army's 25th Infantry Division is in charge of the mission in
Afghanistan and will be replaced in March by the Southern European
Task Force based in Vicenza, Italy. The 173rd Airborne Brigade and
elements of the 18th Airborne Corps---parent unit of the 10th Mountain
Division-will also be part of the command. The 76th Infantry Brigade,
of the Indiana National Guard, will train the Afghan National Army.