NATO operations to target Afghan drug labs and lords

[unhappycamper]

NATO operations to target Afghan drug labs and lords
Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, February 9, 2009

Military operations targeting drug labs and the Afghan drug lords who run them are poised to begin as part of an effort to eliminate a key funding source for Taliban fighters, NATO’s top commander said Sunday during a security conference in Munich.

Gen. John Craddock, who also commands U.S. European Command, told reporters such operations should begin within "the next several days."

"We’ve got to get started," Craddock said, according to media reports.

Meanwhile, Craddock would not disclose whether the U.S. and its allies will be getting more troops from other countries, though he said progress is being made in that area, as well as the need for equipment and intelligence gathering in Afghanistan.

Craddock, who said he needs about 5,000 NATO troops to bolster Afghan forces during the presidential elections later this year, wasn’t alone in the call for more support at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60586