Chuck Grassley: “I think we have a bubbling stew pot of trouble brewing in Afghanistan, and we need to take stronger action action…”

“I think we have a bubbling stew pot of trouble brewing in Afghanistan, and we need to take stronger action action requested by President Karzai, by the way--soon, or much of our effort to root out lawlessness in Afghanistan may be undercut. What am I talking about? Narcotics--particularly about the significant increase in opium production and trafficking in Afghanistan. I am not challenging the significant progress which has been made in the past 2 years. Removing the Taliban and preparing the groundwork for a democratically elected government is no small feat. Working with our allies, we have gathered all of the right ingredients together to build a new Afghanistan that will benefit everyone-- particularly the people of Afghanistan. But the outcome is far from certain, and it doesn't seem as if we are paying enough attention to the danger signs. According to the latest International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released by the State Department at the beginning of this month, Afghanistan had the potential to produce 2,865 metric tons of opium in 2003. This represents almost two-thirds of the total potential opium production in the world. We know the havoc that drug use creates in a society. We know the corruption that drug trafficking encourages whereever it occurs. Experience has shown us that ignoring drug production and trafficking has only made things worse. These factors alone should be a reason for concern.…”