Anti-drug mandate comes with conditions as some countries are wary of NATO's involvement

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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BUDAPEST, Hungary - NATO defence ministers agreed yesterday to let their troops in Afghanistan attack drug barons blamed for pumping up to US$100 million a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters.

"With regard to counter-narcotics ... ISAF can act in concert with the Afghans against facilities and facilitators supporting the insurgency," said NATO spokesman James Appathurai, referring to NATO's International Security Assistance Force.

The United States has pushed for NATO's 50,000 troops to take on a counter-narcotics role to hit back at the Taliban, whose increasing attacks have cast doubt on the prospects of a western military victory in Afghanistan.

However, Germany, Spain and others were wary and their doubts led to NATO imposing conditions on the anti-drug mandate for ISAF.

Troops will only be able to act against drug facilities if authorized by their own governments; only drug producers deemed to be supporting the insurgency will be targeted; and the operation must be designed to be temporary -- lasting only until the Afghan security forces are deemed able to take on the task.

The conditions are not unusual, as some countries already limit the use of their troops in Afghanistan, based on what are called caveats. The restriction include how, where or when some troops will fight.

NATO defence ministers will review the success of the mission when they meet next February.

Despite the limitations, NATO's top commander said the agreement gave him sufficient authority to act against the Taliban's drug lord backers.

"We now have the ability to move forward in an area that affects the security and stability of Afghanistan," said U.S. Gen. John Craddock. "It will allow us to reduce the funding and income to the insurgents."

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who pressed for the anti-drug effort, welcomed the NATO deal.

He said the Unites States and the British are interested in attacking the drug problem, along with some others whom he did not name.

Since the bulk of the drug problems are in the southern part of the country, he said it is likely troops there will be more involved in interdicting drugs than those in other locations. Canada has about 2,500 troops on the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. Most of them are in Kandahar province in the south of the country.

Germany and Spain agreed to the anti-drug mission after an appeal for help from Afghanistan's defence minister.

"We've asked NATO to please support us, support our effort in destroying the labs and also the interdiction of the drugs and the chemical precursors that are coming from outside the country for making heroin," Gen. Abdul Rahim Wardak told reporters after meeting his NATO counterparts Thursday.

Afghanistan supplies 90 per cent of the world's heroin, a trade worth billions of dollars.