NATO must agree Afghan drug strategy now, general says

By Kristin Roberts

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - NATO Supreme Allied Commander Gen. John Craddock said defence ministers must agree on Friday to let alliance troops attack opium networks funding the Taliban in Afghanistan to have a hope of establishing security.

Without such a plan "more money goes into the coffers of the Taliban, more bombs are bought, more bomb makers are paid, more bullets are bought, more people who shoot the bullets are hired and more of our soldiers and our Marines get killed," he said.

"NATO has to leave here with a decision," Craddock said in an interview with Reuters after the first of two days of talks among defence ministers in Budapest that ends on Friday.

On Thursday, the ministers considered a proposal by Craddock to adopt a mission that would allow troops to target drug laboratories, trafficking networks and narcotics leaders in Afghanistan. The aim is to halt a poppy and opium trade that U.S. officials say nets the Taliban at least $80 million (47 million pounds) a year -- funds used by the insurgency to recruit, train and operate.

The United States backs the plan but some European allies say the mission is outside the scope of the alliance's agreed mandate in Afghanistan. Germany said the mission could worsen violence and put troops at greater risk.

Craddock and U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates argued tackling the narcotics business was a fundamental part of the strategy to defeat the Taliban and allow the Afghan government to establish control throughout the country.

"NATO is charged with a safe and secure environment," Craddock said. "You cannot have a safe and secure environment with a scourge of narcotics rampant."

One option on the table at the NATO talks on Friday, Gates said, would allow those member nations opposed to the plan to opt out. If nothing is agreed, Washington might consider a unilateral mission, U.S. officials said. Gates declined comment.