Report on Progress Toward Security and Stability in - United States ...

SECTION 7 – COUNTERNARCOTICS
7.1: STRATEGY AND PRIORITIES
The Afghan Government is the lead for all counternarcotics (CN) operations. The Afghan
Government regularly partners with the U.S. and international organizations to target narcotics
traffickers and facilities. As part of the COIN strategy, DoD coordinates with the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other U.S. Government departments and agencies to support
the overall CN strategy for Afghanistan. The main goal of this strategy is to reduce the ability of
the insurgency to draw support from the narcotics industry. RC-S and RC-SW remained priority
areas for military and law enforcement CN efforts during the reporting period. These regions
constitute principal areas for Afghan poppy cultivation, and as such, are critical sources of
revenue for the Taliban-led insurgency. DoD’s role in support of CN operations includes
building the capacity of the Counternarcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA), improving border
security, promoting information sharing, and fostering regional and international cooperation.
The United States has been revising its CN strategy for Afghanistan since the beginning of this
reporting period. This revision will prioritize CN assistance during the security transition and
drawdown of U.S. and coalition combat forces. Additionally, at the operational level, a new CN
Campaign Strategy was signed by COMISAF during the reporting period. This campaign
strategy further reiterates the importance of continuing to degrade the insurgent-narcotics nexus.
Simultaneously, ISAF will assist the Afghan Government in developing its counternarcotics
capacity and capability for the eventual transition to greater Afghan responsibility.
7.2: COUNTERNARCOTICS OPERATIONS
Increased ISAF presence and expanded operations in southern Afghanistan, enabled by the surge
in forces through 2010, have helped to decrease poppy cultivation in an area of the country
where CN progress was previously unattainable. Areas with ISAF and ANSF presence have
seen a steady decline in cultivation, most notably in Helmand, Afghanistan’s largest poppygrowing
province, where cultivation has declined for three consecutive years.
This reporting period saw a 49 percent decrease in seized opium, a 54 percent decrease in seized
morphine, a 93 percent decrease in seized heroin, a 70 percent increase in marijuana and hashish
seizures, a 56 percent decrease in seized liquid pre-cursor chemicals, a 33 percent increase in
seizure of solid pre-cursor chemicals, and a 50 percent decrease (a total of 256 individuals) in the
total number of suspects arrested.
94