Rumsfeld in Tajikistan, focus on Afghan drug trade

DUSHANBE, July 10 (Reuters) U S Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld today blamed the re-emergence of the Taliban for drug trafficking and called on European countries to do more in Afghanistan to quell the trade which hurts their societies.

On a visit to Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan, Rumsfeld dismissed arguments that the US military's focus on Iraq had allowed drug trafficking to rise, a trade that American defence and drug officials say funds the Taliban's activities.

''The demand out of Europe, Western Europe and Russia for these drugs is substantial and I do worry that the profits that come from the sale of those products could conceivably end up adversely affecting the democratic process in the country,'' Rumsfeld told reporters.

''Anytime there is that much money floating around and you have people like the Taliban, it gives them an opportunity to fund their efforts in various ways.

''Western Europe ought to have an enormous interest in the success in Afghanistan, and it's going to take a lot more effort on their part'' for Afghanistan's government to be successful, he said.

Tajikistan strategically critical to the United States and its operations in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The Pentagon has what defence officials call a as-and-go arrangement with Tajikistan, allowing official US aircraft to refuel in Tajikistan. The country has also given the United States over-flight rights.

But Tajikistan's border security and the narcotics trade remain challenges.

Rumsfeld's trip to Tajikistan, his first in a year, comes as the Taliban's insurgency has grown and become more sophisticated, due in part to funding from the narcotics trade running from Afghanistan north through Tajikistan to Russia and Europe, US defence and drug officials say.

Rumsfeld said the United States was aiding Tajikistan in its border security and counter-narcotics efforts, but he did not comment on what more the United States wanted the Tajik government to do to curb the drug trade from Afghanistan.

Tajik Foreign Minister Talbak Nazarov said that while the Taliban's re-emergence threatens to reverse Afghanistan's progress, his country should not be blamed.

He said drug seizures by Tajik authorities are up 27 percent in the first three months of this year, much of it heroin.

''The drugs situation today is very difficult,'' he said. ''It requires the common work of the anti-terrorist coalition and countries that border Afghanistan and of course all Afghan forces.'' Rumsfeld said Washington had no plans to add troops to the Central Asian region, despite growing violence in Afghanistan.

But he did not say whether the United States had specifically asked Tajikistan for increased access or an increased presence following the loss of base access in Uzbekistan and ongoing negotiations over continued military access to an air base in Kyrgyzstan.

''We're not interested in establishing bases around the world.

Indeed, we've been reducing bases,'' Rumsfeld said. ''We do need the ability to support the activities that are taking place in Afghanistan.'' REUTERS SY BST2355