New US Strategy on Afghanistan Ignores Anti-Drug Campaign: Afghan Officials
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Afghan officials are worried about the new US strategy for its lack of attention to the danger posed by illicit drug cultivation and trafficking in the country.
“Washington’s financial help for fighting drug cultivation and trafficking has decreased in recent years,” Spokesman for Afghanistan Ministry of Counter-Narcotics Mohammad Hanif Daneshyar said.
He added that the Afghan Ministry of Counter-Narcotics is concerned about weakening global commitment on fighting drug cultivation and trafficking in Afghanistan.
“Fighting terrorism is not possible without fighting drugs,” he went on to say.
Deputy Spokesperson for Afghan government Najibullah Azad has also stressed the importance of global support for Kabul in fighting drugs in the country.
“Drug cultivation and trafficking are one of the terrorists’ financial sources,” he noted.
The new US strategy for Afghanistan was announced by US President Donald Trump at the Army’s Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall last Monday.
Despite saying earlier that he was in favor of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, Trump now seems to be following the approach of his predecessors, promising that the troops “will fight to win.”
Ending the 16-year military engagement in the country with a “hasty withdrawal” would only play into the hands of the terrorists, he said.
