Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Military Space News .




THE STANS
Russia's Afghan anti-drug efforts panned
by Staff Writers
Kabul, Afghanistan (UPI) Jan 22, 2013


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Russia isn't doing enough to help Afghanistan stop the burgeoning production of narcotics in the country, a Kabul anti-drug official says.

Ibrahim Azhar, Afghanistan's deputy counter-narcotics minister, told local media Sunday that while Kremlin leaders pay lip service to working to halt the flow of drugs from his country into Russia, they have little to actually show for it, RIA Novosti reported.

"They make these loud statements to maintain their image and confidence in them ... These statements have been made before but have not resulted in any success," Azhar said.

The comments seemed aimed at Russian drug control chief Viktor Ivanov, who last week hailed the seizure of 106 tons of illegal drugs in 2012, up 70 percent from the previous year.

"We are building up our efforts," he said.

But Azhar said surging demand for drugs in Russia is a key part of the problem that Moscow has done little to address.

"The demand for Afghan-made drugs in Russia is extremely large but Russians have not done any fundamental work to counter this threat," Azhar said.

Although the countries are working together to mount operations to destroy drug labs and exchange intelligence on traffickers, the Afghan official contended that's insufficient to address the magnitude of the problem.

"The long war years and economic difficulties have forced some residents of Afghanistan to grow and produce drugs," Azhar said. "In the wake of this, radical and urgent measures are required to expand and implement the projects of countering drugs production but Russia has failed to succeed in this area."

Ivanov has repeatedly pointed the finger at NATO for a lack of resolve in fighting poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, saying that although it poses a grave risk to the European Union, little has been done to end it.

He has blamed the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force for failing to halt the spread of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan during its 12 years of fighting Taliban extremists.

Heroin production in Afghanistan has increased 40y-fold in the past decade, Moscow's Federal Drug Control Service says, contributing to the epidemic of narcotics addiction in Russia.

In November, Ivanov said Russia wants to work with NATO but is being rebuffed, with the alliance refusing to accredit a representative of the Russian drug enforcement service to its headquarters in Brussels, RT Television reported.

The Kremlin has called for NATO-led coalition forces to spray chemical defoliants on Afghan poppy fields, much as the United States has done in Colombia to eradicate coca fields.

But NATO, the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have rejected that option, contending it would drive desperate Afghan farmers into the arms of Taliban militants.

"On the surface, I would say yes, it is a very quick way of eradicating the opium," Timothy Jones, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency attache to ISAF, told RT. "Even though we can use chemicals that attack a specific type of plant, the people on the ground may think that you are attacking everything, destroying their livelihood."

Instead, the United States under the administration of President Barack Obama and other coalition leaders have opted for a strategy of backing alternative crops and livelihoods and have paid provincial governors to use Afghan forces to eradicate opium fields, The New York Times reported.

.


Related Links
News From Across The Stans






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








THE STANS
Pakistan averts crisis, heads towards historic polls
Islamabad (AFP) Jan 18, 2013
Islamabad has brokered an end to a protest challenging its rule that paves the way to historic elections, but rising violence in the weak nuclear-armed state is still a threat, analysts say. After another week of profound instability, Pakistan's civilian politicians are arguably more resilient than ever, credited with averting fears of a rumoured military-judicial plot to subvert a democrati ... read more


THE STANS
Israel upgrades missile-killer Iron Dome

Protest in Ankara against Patriot missile deployment

German, Dutch Patriot missiles arrive in Turkey: NATO

Raytheon supports 40 years of Fleet defense through AEGIS system development

THE STANS
Raytheon awarded contract for HARM upgrade

Short-range ballistic missile again fired in Syria: NATO

Iran develops new missile launcher

Thatcher 'warned France to cut off Exocets in Falklands war'

THE STANS
Sagetech, ING Robotic Aviation Demonstrate "Sense and Avoid" Capabilities of UAV's

Northrop Grumman, Cassidian Fly First Sensor-Equipped Euro Hawk

TerraLuma Selects Headwall's Micro Hyperspec for UAV Applications

Elbit Systems to Supply Long-Range Observation Systems to the Israeli Ministry of Defense

THE STANS
Boeing to Upgrade Combat Survivor Evader Locator Radios, Base Stations

NATO member orders Falcon III radios

Lockheed Martin Completes Work on US Navy's Second MUOS Satellite

Russia Set to Launch Three Military Satellites

THE STANS
Lockheed Martin Receives USAF Approval For Sniper Pod Full-Rate Production Under ATP-SE Program

Operators use JLENS for IED warfare simulation

Northrop Grumman to Provide Hand Held Precision Targeting Devices to US Army

Elbit Systems to Supply the Israeli Ministry of Defense with Cardom Artillery Systems

THE STANS
India and Israel deepen defense ties

Rheinmetall wins 280 mn euros in contracts in Kuwait, Asia

Swedish, Swiss Gripen buys closer

Outside View: Brain-based approach

THE STANS
Russia ready for seeking a compromise with NATO on air defense

Obama issues inaugural call for unity, equality

Outside View: What Obama can learn

Commentary: Bloody amnesia

THE STANS
New Research Gives Insight into Graphene Grain Boundaries

Chemistry resolves toxic concerns about carbon nanotubes

Engineer making rechargeable batteries with layered nanomaterials

New nanotech fiber: Robust handling, shocking performance




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement