Admiral Stavridis Identifies Afghan Opium as Fuel of Caucasus Security Threat

April 6, 2010 (LPAC)—Adm. James Stavridis, who took over as commander of U.S. European Command (EUCOM) last July,told the Ambassadors from the Black Sea nations at an April 1 conference in Stuttgart, that the flow of narcotics, particularly heroin from Afghanistan, human trafficking, and weapons smuggling, are some of the factors that contribute to growing instability in an area where regional rivalries have historically limited cooperation. "When I look at the [Caucasus region] in general, as we see with the recent subway bombings ... I'm worried about that as a zone of terrorism," Stavridis said following meetings with diplomats at his U.S. European Command headquarters.

"For instance," he said, "NATO needs to do more regarding heroin flowing into the region from Afghanistan." Stavridis said that heroin is to blame for the deaths of some 30,000 Russians between the ages of 18-24, last year. "That, in and of itself, is a humanitarian disaster. And the profit and the money from that goes right back to the Taliban in Afghanistan," the Admiral pointed out. "Heroin made from Afghanistan poppy crops generates from $100 to $400 million each year for the insurgency. And though poppy production has declined in the past year, the situation is a long way from good," he said.

Acknowledging that the U.S. relationship with Russia, the most important player in the region, was complicated in recent years, but has now begun to improve, Stavridis pointed out that the Russians are concerned with poppy production in Afghanistan. Russian officials in recent weeks have been increasingly critical of the U.S. and NATO, saying that a more aggressive eradication strategy against poppy growers is needed. Stavridis said he intends to speak with his Russian counterparts in the near future to discuss NATO's counternarcotic efforts, which in large part are focused on getting farmers to grow alternative crops. "We're going to have to help Afghanistan solve that problem," Stavridis said.

Obama's Opium War

 

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