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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Nato to target Afghan drugs trade | Nato to target Afghan drugs trade |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Nato has agreed its troops will be allowed to attack opium factories for the first time in Afghanistan. | Nato has agreed its troops will be allowed to attack opium factories for the first time in Afghanistan. |
| Alliance spokesman James Appathurai said troops will act with Afghan forces "against facilities and facilitators" using drugs to finance the Taleban. | Alliance spokesman James Appathurai said troops will act with Afghan forces "against facilities and facilitators" using drugs to finance the Taleban. |
| Agreement was reached during a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Budapest. | Agreement was reached during a meeting of Nato defence ministers in Budapest. |
| All counter-narcotics operations have until now been carried out by Afghan forces. The US wants more aggressive tactics against the opium trade. | |
| Nato and US-led forces have until now concentrated on eradicating poppy crops, rather than attacking opium factories and distribution networks. | |
| See a map of opium production | |
| Several Nato members fear that any crackdown would prompt a violent backlash against allied troops. | |
| Mr Appathurai said participation would be "subject to the authorisation of respective nations". | Mr Appathurai said participation would be "subject to the authorisation of respective nations". |
| He gave few further details. Nato defence ministers will review the mission in February. | |
| Afghanistan supplies more than 90% of the world's illicit opium, the main ingredient of heroin. | |
| 'Scourge' | 'Scourge' |
| Nato's top operations commander, Gen John Craddock, attended the Budapest talks to push for more concerted action by alliance members. | |
| Troops will need government go-ahead to act against drug dealers | |
| He told them the Afghan opium trade is bankrolling the Taleban insurgency to the tune of $100m (£57m) a year. | He told them the Afghan opium trade is bankrolling the Taleban insurgency to the tune of $100m (£57m) a year. |
| "You cannot have a safe and secure environment with a scourge of narcotics rampant," he told Reuters news agency on Thursday. | "You cannot have a safe and secure environment with a scourge of narcotics rampant," he told Reuters news agency on Thursday. |
| His remarks come amid anxiety that opium production far exceeds global demand and that international drug cartels must have stockpiled huge quantities. | His remarks come amid anxiety that opium production far exceeds global demand and that international drug cartels must have stockpiled huge quantities. |
| The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, is urging the international community to "find the missing opium". | The head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, is urging the international community to "find the missing opium". |
| "These stockpiles are a time bomb for public health and global security," he has said. | "These stockpiles are a time bomb for public health and global security," he has said. |
| It is estimated that bumper poppy harvests have yielded twice as much opium as needed to satisfy every known heroin user on the planet. | It is estimated that bumper poppy harvests have yielded twice as much opium as needed to satisfy every known heroin user on the planet. |
| British law enforcement officers working undercover in southern Afghanistan are reporting seizures of "enormous quantities of precursors" - the chemicals required to process opium - suggesting vast amounts of heroin may be hidden in the lawless region. | British law enforcement officers working undercover in southern Afghanistan are reporting seizures of "enormous quantities of precursors" - the chemicals required to process opium - suggesting vast amounts of heroin may be hidden in the lawless region. |
| The UN said in August that poppy production in Afghanistan was down this year after a record-breaking harvest in 2007. | |
| But the southern region of Helmand, a Taleban stronghold, accounts for nearly 66% of all Afghan opium, from which heroin is obtained. | |
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