Congress watchdog: drugs threaten Afghan stability

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N02438305.htm

WASHINGTON, June 2 (Reuters) - A booming opium trade, intensifying violence and a weak central government threaten the long-term stability of Afghanistan despite U.S. military and aid efforts, a congressional watchdog said on Wednesday.

And while Bush administration officials who spoke to Congress after the General Accounting Office report was issued emphasized progress rebuilding after the toppling of Afghanistan's Taliban rulers, they echoed concerns that the drugs trade was bolstering warlords and undermining President Hamid Karzai's power.

The GAO, a nonpartisan congressional watchdog agency, also criticized the Bush administration for weak oversight of U.S. aid and delays in disbursing billions of dollars for the impoverished Central Asian nation.

"Conditions in Afghanistan, such as the deteriorating security situation, the relative weakness of the central government, and the increase in opium production, complicate the long-term reconstruction process and threaten its ultimate success," the GAO said in a report to Congress monitoring U.S. aid.

The criticism highlights concern that Washington, distracted by Iraq, has paid too little attention to Afghanistan since ousting the Taliban and routing al Qaeda fighters in retaliation for the Sept. 11 attacks.

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[Media_Lies_Daily]

1. What Afghan "stability"?

[eyesroll]

2. Didn't we give millions of dollars to the Taliban because they

were making progress on eradicating the opium trade? (Hmm...I wonder where all that money went...)

[struggle4progress]

3. Just wait: the talented spinners of La-La Land will tell us shortly ...

what a smashing success story Afghanistan is!