ENDING AFGHANISTAN'S DRUG BOOM

The opium problem could undo everything that's being done to help the
Afghan people.

Afghanistan's presidential election this Saturday will be a key moment
in that country's history. For three years, the international
community has done an outstanding job of stabilizing Afghanistan and
building a future for its people.

During my recent trip there, I had an opportunity to appreciate the
essential role played by NATO's International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF).

Yet, despite these efforts, one issue is particularly worthy of
attention: the noticeable increase of narcotics production since 2002
and its geographical expansion in Afghanistan.

Apparently, 28 of the country's 32 provinces are producing opium, with
more than 1.7 million people employed at this work.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, opium
production in Afghanistan in 2003 amounted to about 3,600 tonnes --
three-quarters of world production -- over 200,000 acres of cultivated
land. An even larger harvest is expected this year as traffickers
stock up to protect themselves against a reaction from the
international community.

Not only do these narcotics flood the global drug market, with serious
consequences for public health, their production is impeding
Afghanistan's stabilization.

Warlords are taking advantage of and protecting trafficking.
Narcotics-related financial networks are fed by particularly powerful
underworld groups that undermine authority and the rule of law.

"No-go" areas that foster crime are developing. And money generated
by trafficking makes it possible to fund attacks by Taliban fighters
still in the area.

In fact, there is little doubt that drug money is funding terrorist
activities. And 10 per cent of the heroin produced in Central Asia is
consumed locally, creating a public health problem for Afghanistan
that must be confronted rapidly.

Drug trafficking and the farming of poppies are damaging the area's
economic development, a prerequisite for re-establishing the nation's
stability. Afghan President Hamid Karzai has outlawed drug production
and trafficking and last January created a special force for
counternarcotics efforts. Nonetheless, the scale of the problem
demands a response that goes beyond local resources and
capabilities.

Like the international community, France is concerned and is willing
to help.

We must take advantage of the post-election dynamics to act quickly. A
first step will be to reinforce training of the Afghan police, to
improve the judiciary system, and to strengthen the disarming,
demobilizing and reintegrating process.

A second will be to encourage measures to prohibit poppy-processing
laboratories.

But this won't be enough.

An international force other than the ISAF, specifically tasked with
counternarcotics operations, should be established. And a third axis
is necessary, to support the development of substitute crops.

There are many signs that production can be controlled if there is
efficient action on the main issue: the poverty of small farmers.

Traditional food crops such as wheat and corn can offer a viable
alternative. The U.N. World Food Program has offered to help
Afghanistan investigate new markets, such as nuts and grapes.

Along with new irrigation systems, several tree nurseries should be
renovated to meet the increasing demand for plants. All these
initiatives must be encouraged, and the international community must
promise that its members will purchase the crops.

The international community must operate cohesively, displaying a
fierce determination to succeed.

France is committed to help Afghanistan in this political transition
phase, beyond the election. The involvement of our forces not only in
the ISAF but also in counterterrorism through Operation Enduring
Freedom and in the training of Afghan troops remains highly beneficial.

But in Afghanistan as elsewhere, counterterrorism must be global, and
this encompasses the links between narcotics, money and terrorism.

This is a war that must be fought on all fronts, a war in which France
will be involved without reservation.