REMARKS: SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY WITH SINGAPOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER SHANMUGAM

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With Singaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam Before Their Meeting

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

May 12, 2014

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SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. My pleasure to welcome the foreign minister of Singapore, Foreign Minister Shanmugam. He is probably the first person, I think – one of the first people I talked to when I first became the Secretary, and we have had the pleasure of working in a number of different meetings and fora in the Asia Pacific, elsewhere.
I want to thank him and Singapore for their strong strategic partnership with the United States. There are many issues of concern where we think alike and we work in partnership. One of the most recent, obviously, is the Chinese challenge to the Paracel Islands. And we are particularly concerned – all nations that are engaged in navigation and traffic within the South China Sea, the East China Sea, are deeply concerned about this aggressive act. We want to see a code of conduct created; we want to see this resolved peacefully through the Law of the Sea, through arbitration, through any other means, but not direct confrontation and aggressive action.

In addition, we have enormous interests in terms of our economies and other interests. We work on counternarcotics, we work on counterterrorism, and particularly of great interest to both of us is the economic relationship. We have some 2,000 American businesses that are based in Singapore. Singapore is an enormous port, as everybody knows. It’s critical to the trade and commerce in the region. We have had a free trade agreement with Singapore for some period of time now, and that really was the precursor to the thinking about the TPP, Trans-Pacific Partnership, where again, Singapore has been deeply engaged, very involved in helping to shape it, showing leadership for which we are very appreciative.

In addition to that, we are engaged with the U.S.-Asia Pacific Comprehensive Energy Pact Partnership. And this is vital to our ability to be able to attract capital and fund renewable fuel projects, long-term clean energy projects for the future.

So I’m delighted to welcome the foreign minister here today, and we look forward to having a fruitful conversation. Thank you very much.

FOREIGN MINISTER SHANMUGAM: Thank you, Secretary Kerry. We have had – I met Secretary Kerry last year. We have had a great set of interactions. Singapore and U.S., we are old friends. Very strong partnership, very strong security relationship, and we have very similar ideas on a broad range of issues, as Secretary Kerry has said.

I want to talk to Secretary Kerry about both our bilateral issues – there are no issues, but how to take the partnership further, and also on regional issues, and also on the TPP, which Secretary Kerry spoke about. Today, 560,000 American jobs are dependent on exports to ASEAN alone, and ASEAN attracts nearly U.S. $200 billion of investments, the largest in all of Asia. One in three American jobs are dependent on exports to Asia. So the TPP has tremendous economic consequences for the U.S. and for our region, and I hope to speak with Secretary Kerry and others on the importance of making substantial progress, which is the President’s determination.

And on regional issues, on South China Sea issues, we have – I’ve just come from the ASEAN meeting. ASEAN foreign ministers issued a statement. We do not want tension. We want a code of conduct to be progressed with. We need a situation where parties resolve their disputes and differences in a way that’s acceptable to all, and I’m sure we’ll have good discussions. Thank you.

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you.

FOREIGN MINISTER SHANMUGAM: Thank you.

DOD OFFICIAL TELLS CONGRESS NARCOTICS IN AFGHANISTAN CONTRIBUTES TO INSECURITY

FROM:  DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Afghanistan Counternarcotics Efforts Continue, Official Says
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2014 – The United States has made an extraordinary investment in both blood and treasure to eradicate terrorist safe havens and narcotics production in Afghanistan, the Defense Department’s principal director for counternarcotics and global threats told a House Foreign Affairs Committee panel yesterday.

More than 2,000 Americans have died in Operation Enduring Freedom, and another nearly 20,000 have been wounded, Erin M. Logan said in prepared remarks for the subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.
In addition, the Defense Department has invested $2 billion for dedicated counternarcotics training and programs, out of the nearly $570 billion spent on the war since 2001.

“We believe that $2 billion has been well spent in developing specialized [counternarcotics] units and capabilities that have begun to achieve concrete results,” Logan said.

Despite this progress, the gains are not yet irreversible, she said. Likening the programs to a seedling, Logan said Afghanistan’s counternarcotics organizations will require care and nurturing before they are ready to stand on their own.
“Stepping back from our efforts now would jeopardize the further development of these units that have become reliable partners for U.S. and international law enforcement efforts,” she said. It’s impossible to envision a successful future for Afghanistan without sustaining an Afghan capability to fight violence and corruption created by the drug trade, she added.

The production and distribution of narcotics contributes to the country’s insecurity, she said, leading to corruption, poor governance and stagnation of economic development. “Addressing the drug trade and its effects is essential to the successful transition of security responsibility to the government of Afghanistan,” Logan said.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Afghanistan’s opium poppy cultivation was up 36 percent in 2013, she said. “The link between insecurity and opium cultivation is well established in Afghanistan,” she added. “Most of the opium poppy cultivation is concentrated in southern and western provinces, where the narcotics trade continues to fuel criminal and insurgent networks.

“The trade in Afghan-produced opiates has become an increasingly global phenomenon,” she continued, “with drugs and illicit proceeds flowing to the Persian Gulf and the Middle East, East Africa, Europe, Russia and North America, with a small percentage of the heroin consumed in the United States coming from Afghanistan.”

The Defense Department’s counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan have two goals, Logan said: “to counter and disrupt drug-related funding to the insurgency, and … to strengthen the Afghan government’s capacity to combat the drug trade during and after the security transition.”

The form those efforts take include building the capacity of the Counternarcotics Police of Afghanistan, improving border security, promoting information sharing and fostering regional and international cooperation, she said, including with other U.S. government agencies.

The Defense Department’s post-2014 counternarcotics strategy prioritizes programs that disrupt, degrade, and dismantle illicit narcotics networks, Logan said. It has three aims: to contain and reduce the flow of drugs from Afghanistan, to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations, and to reduce the flow of illicit proceeds that finance insurgent and terrorist activities globally, she said.
“The government of Afghanistan must be able to control narco-trafficking to advance the security of its population and allow room for lawful economic growth,” Logan added.

To meet the goals outlined in the strategy, Logan said, the department must focus on three areas: continued support for vetted units, continued aviation capacity building, and continued leveraging of international and interagency capabilities.
Afghanistan’s specialized counternarcotics units have shown that they are willing and able to do the job, she said.

“More and more specialized units are now able to plan, execute, and follow through on [counternarcotics] missions on their own,” Logan said. “For example, in December, the DOD-supported and [Drug Enforcement Agency]-mentored Sensitive Investigative Unit was able to use judicially authorized wire intercepts to build a case that led to the arrest of two criminals and the seizure of 660 grams of heroin, 500 boxes of ammunition, 40 remote control IEDs, and 75 rocket-propelled grenades.”

Afghanistan’s terrain makes developing its aviation capability vital -- not just for counternarcotics operations, but for any security effort, she said.
“Afghan forces must have adequate air mobility to operate in the remote areas where insurgents and illicit drug networks operate,” Logan said.

This won’t be a rapid process, she noted. “Our experiences in Colombia and elsewhere illustrate that it can take a decade or more for an aviation capability to become truly self-sustaining. In a nation like Afghanistan where budgetary pressures will be high, it may take longer.”

Interagency and international partnerships will become increasingly important as U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan draw down over the coming year, Logan said. “The worldwide breadth of the Afghan heroin trade will require working across numerous ‘seams’ between the geographic combatant commands, and building upon existing international partnerships to disrupt the flow of drugs and other illicit commodities,” she said.

To facilitate this cross-agency and cross-border collaboration, Logan said, her office is working with combatant commands, U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies and interested international partners to create a regional targeting and intelligence center. The center would be able to “coordinate and facilitate international efforts to disrupt the flow of heroin, target illicit sources of revenue, and dismantle criminal organizations that pose the greatest threat to U.S. and international security,” she noted.

To begin, Logan said, the agency will expand Operation Riptide, which is located in Bahrain and leverages the capabilities of U.S. and international law enforcement and national intelligence agencies to facilitate interdictions, seizures, investigations and prosecutions.

“Naval interdictions from Combined Maritime Forces in Bahrain, notably by Canada’s HMCS Toronto and by Australia’s HMAS Melbourne, have proven the international community’s ability to identify, track, board, and seize illicit cargo on the high seas,” she said.

In 2013, HMCS Toronto conducted seven seizures, Logan said. The value of the cargo it seized during that time is estimated to be equal to the amount of funding necessary to outfit 100 platoons of insurgents, she noted.

“DOD plans to continue its successful and effective partnership with the interagency and international partners to disrupt the sources of revenue for terrorists and insurgents, and reduce the corrosive, corruptive, and destabilizing impact of illicit narcotics,” Logan said.

COUNTERNARCOTICS IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  STATE DEPARTMENT 
Future U.S. Counternarcotics Efforts in Afghanistan
Remarks
William R. Brownfield
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control
Washington, DC
January 15, 2014

Chairman Feinstein, Co-Chairman Grassley, and other distinguished Senators, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan. The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), which I have the honor to lead, works alongside our Afghan partners to help them develop and sustain programs to minimize all stages of the drug trade, including cultivation, production, trafficking, and use; to better protect vulnerable populations from the scourge of drugs; and to bring to justice major traffickers. These programs are works in progress. There is no silver bullet to eliminate drug cultivation or production in Afghanistan or address the epidemic of substance use disorders that plagues many poor Afghans. But we are successfully building Afghan capacity to implement and lead counternarcotics efforts.

Afghanistan today produces well over 80 percent of the world’s illicit opium, undermining good governance and public health, subverting the legal economy, fueling corruption and insecurity, and putting money in the hands of the Taliban. The narcotics trade has been a windfall for the insurgency. The United Nations (UN) estimates that the Afghan Taliban received at least $155 million annually from narcotics-related activities including taxation, protection, and extortion.

Equally worrisome is the impact of the narcotics trade on Afghanistan’s democratic institutions and human development, which the United States has supported through heavy investment. At every level of the illicit narcotics market – from cultivation to production to trafficking and consumption – the narcotics trade undermines good governance and saps the capacity of the Afghan people. It is noteworthy that Afghanistan now has one of the highest opiate usage rates in the world.

According to the UN World Drug Report, Afghan opium fuels a global trade that generates over $60 billion in profits for corrupt officials, drug traffickers, organized criminal groups, and insurgents. And while the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimates that only a small portion of the heroin in the United States currently originates in Afghanistan, there is clear potential for transnational criminal networks to adapt and for this amount to increase in the years ahead.

Afghan poppy cultivation increased significantly in 2013. While cultivation is only one indicator of counternarcotics progress, it was disappointing news, as was the reported decline in poppy eradication by provincial authorities. With the vast majority of opium poppy cultivated in the least secure areas, poppy farming is inextricably linked to security. Illicit actors, including insurgents, profit from narcotic sales. And in 2014, preparations for the critical spring elections will create competing demands on Afghan security forces who assumed the security lead from international forces only six months ago and continue to build their capacities.

Despite these tough realities, we have seen encouraging progress in the Afghan government’s counternarcotics capacity. In particular, there have been positive developments in areas such as interdiction, prosecutions, treatment services for substance use disorders, and alternative livelihoods for Afghan farmers. We have also seen that farmers are less likely to grow poppy in communities where the government has established a strong foothold and where basic development facilities, such as electricity, medical clinics, and schools, are available.

Together with the United Kingdom, we have helped the Afghan government stand up skilled Afghan interdiction units with specialized intelligence capabilities. Over the past several years, we have seen a steady increase in the amount of illicit narcotics seized by the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) and its vetted units, which have been trained through U.S. programs. The growing and self-sustaining capacity of these vetted units is the direct result of the mentoring, training, and assistance of U.S. programs, which INL implements with our partners at the DEA and Department of Defense. INL successfully transitioned the Kunduz Regional Law Enforcement Center to the Afghan Ministry of the Interior (MOI) in September. The MOI now manages this center and it continues to be used by the CNPA vetted units for sensitive interdiction missions.

The Counter Narcotics Justice Center (CNJC), a fully Afghan facility with jurisdiction for the investigation, detention, prosecution, and trial of major narcotics cases is another important development. INL, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice and the United Kingdom, provides advisory and facility operations assistance to the CNJC. During the most recent Afghan calendar year (March 2012-March 2013), the CNJC’s Primary and Appellate Courts each heard the cases of over 700 accused. The CNJC Investigation and Laboratory Department processed cases involving more than 233 metric tons of illegal drugs – a 26 percent increase over the previous year. The CNJC is often cited as one of the premier judicial institutions in Afghanistan and is where U.S.-designated drug kingpin Haji Lal Jan was tried last year and ultimately received a 15-year prison sentence. Recently, Afghan prosecutors at the court secured three convictions based on conspiracy statutes rather than seizures, demonstrating their use of additional provisions of Afghan law.

Drug treatment is another area where the Afghan government and civil society are making significant progress. The U.S. and other donors have provided substantial support to enable the Afghans to establish a network of over 100 facilities across the country offering evidence-based treatment services. We are now in the process of transitioning responsibility for all drug treatment services to the Government of Afghanistan. As a first step, the Ministry of Public Health has committed to hiring the clinical staff at all drug treatment centers as government employees, which is critical to ensuring that these programs will be sustained under Afghan ownership in the years ahead.

Supporting economic alternatives to poppy cultivation is also critical. While alternative development programs are best addressed by my colleagues at the U.S. Agency for International Development, last month we joined the Afghan government in launching a new Food Zone in Kandahar. Building on the successes and lessons learned from the Helmand Food Zone, which I know that this Caucus is very familiar with, the Kandahar Food Zone (KFZ) will provide comprehensive counternarcotics support: alternative livelihoods, law enforcement, public information, and demand reduction – in key districts in Kandahar province. I must thank the Caucus for its support of the expansion of this program, which has been a positive tool for the Afghan government.

Our work with the Afghan Ministry of Counter Narcotics (MCN) cuts across all of these efforts. In recent years, the leadership and staff of the MCN have demonstrated increased effectiveness in designing counternarcotics policies across the relevant Afghan ministries and in implementing counternarcotics programs nationwide.

Each of these positive developments has matured in spite of a difficult security environment, entrenched corruption, and criminal groups that have worked to undermine progress. But while the challenges are many, let us also keep them in perspective. The estimated value of opium to the Afghan economy has remained relatively stable over the last decade. Yet Afghanistan’s legal economy has grown steadily. As a result, the potential net export value of opiates now make up a much smaller fraction of Afghanistan’s economy – from 60 percent of the GDP in 2003 to 14 percent in 2013. Today, poppy is grown on less than three percent of Afghanistan’s farmable land – roughly the same amount of land devoted to rice and one tenth as much as is devoted to wheat production. In short, Afghanistan’s drug challenge may be formidable, but it is not insurmountable.

As our government’s policy makers define the scope and shape of our engagement in Afghanistan post-2014, we will be ready to tailor our security assistance programs to meet them. We are reviewing our INL counternarcotics programs to assess how to enhance their impact and to ensure we can maintain robust oversight even with anticipated reductions in staff mobility. Several principles will guide our efforts:

It will be essential that we help our Afghan partners preserve the capacities they have developed with our support. The Afghan government that emerges from next year’s elections will need to possess the capabilities – and the political will – to make further progress in the post-2014 period.

Counternarcotics efforts within Afghanistan are fundamentally the responsibility of the Afghan government and people. This is why, across the board, we will focus even more intensively on building the Afghan government’s capacity to successfully and sustainably take responsibility for future efforts. The Afghan opiate trade extends, however, far beyond Afghanistan. For this reason, we also stress and encourage bilateral and multilateral assistance from the international community, as agreed to in the Tokyo Mutual Accountability Framework, to support counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan.

A number of our partners, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan, already provide significant assistance to build the Afghan government’s capacity. We are re-doubling our efforts to bring additional countries to the table, particularly those which are most affected by Afghan opiates. For example, last month in Bangkok, we joined key regional countries – including Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and China – to address precursor chemicals by identifying best practices, tools for tracking chemicals, and next steps to combat illicit trafficking of precursors.

Our counternarcotics efforts do not take place in a vacuum – they are an integral part of the broader U.S. strategy for Afghanistan. We will continue to ensure our CN programs are well integrated with broader U.S. efforts, including assistance programs aimed at supporting a vibrant legal economy. Regardless of the shape or scope of our future counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan, rigorous monitoring, evaluation, and oversight are necessary to ensure that our assistance has an impact and that our programs are safeguarded from waste and abuse. As the U.S. footprint shrinks, we are regularly reviewing our multilayered oversight approach that includes U.S. direct hires having eyes-on wherever possible, supplemented by locally employed staff, independent third party audits, and reporting from implementing program partners and intergovernmental organizations.

As we look to the end of 2014, Afghan capacity to weaken narcotics production and trafficking will only become more important. To be successful, Afghan political will is critical, but we must also sustain assistance with programmatic support and advice. Our experience elsewhere in the world demonstrates that counternarcotics is a long-term effort, hand in glove with the equally long-term challenges of good governance and sustainable economic growth. Success generally requires sustained, long term efforts, so that our partners can develop the necessary capabilities to deliver real results. A diverse, well-coordinated set of programs to support Afghan counter-narcotics capacity, with support from across the interagency and our partners here on the Hill, will be necessary.

Thank you Chairman Feinstein, Co-Chairman Grassley, and members of the Caucus, for your time. I will do my best to address your questions.

AFGHAN LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CENTER CELEBRATED FIRST ANNIVERSARY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
INL Kabul celebrates first anniversary of Gibson Training Center (GTC)

Over the past year, INL planned and hosted 71 trainings, workshops, and graduation ceremonies at the Gibson Training Center (GTC) in Kabul in support of our counternarcotics, corrections, and justice programs. These events trained1517 Afghan professionals, including 280 women. The GTC hosts a variety of INL-funded trainings in partnership with the Corrections System Support Program (CSSP), the Ministry of Counternarcotics (MCN), and the Justice Sector Support Program (JSSP). Each GTC program offers opportunities for practitioners working to combat the narcotics trade and build capacity in the justice system to deepen their knowledge on a range of issues through training and networking opportunities.

In addition, the GTC platform enables senior Afghan officials to meet with their provincial ministry staff and discuss national issues. In most instances, these workshops and trainings were the first opportunity for the provincial staff to meet their senior leadership. The GTC has hosted eight nationwide conferences and eight Minister-level officials. In late May, the General Directorate for Prisons and Detention Centers (GDPDC), in coordination with CSSP, brought together the prison commanders from all 33 Afghan provincial prisons, as well as senior officials from GDPDC, the Ministry of Interior, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Ministry of Justice, for a four-day National Prison Commanders Conference. This conference enabled the prison commanders to engage with each other on solutions to the many challenges facing Afghanistan’s corrections system.

A key component of INL’s transition strategy is support for Afghan government-led trainings. In December, the Ministry of Counternarcotics hosted a capacity building training seminar for 160 civil servants from 34 provinces at the GTC. The training focused on the National Drug Control Strategy, the Drug Demand Reduction policy, the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the civil servants’ law, regulation of personal affairs for civil servants, monitoring and evaluation, procurement and finance issues, and intoxicants and drugs control law. GTC’s support enables the MCN to implement a capacity building seminar aimed at improving the knowledge and skills of their civil servants in the provinces, and increasing coordination between the provinces and the headquarters in Kabul.

In just one year, the GTC has grown into a fully functioning facility capable of providing a safe and comfortable learning environment for our Afghan partners. As the GTC looks towards Afghanistan’s transition, INL will continue to support training sponsored by our implementing partners and Embassy sections (including Public Affairs and the national Lincoln Learning Centers’ Conference) at our facilities. The opportunities provided at the GTC have served to build capacity and foster communication with our Afghan partners, empowering them to lead their country to a safe and stable future.

DOD SAYS US.-RUSSIAN RELATIONS CAN COOPERATE IN MANY AREAS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
U.S., Russia Can Make Bilateral Progress, DOD Official Says
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2013 - The United States and Russia disagree on some aspects of their bilateral relations, but there are many areas where the countries can and do cooperate, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia told the Heritage Foundation yesterday.

The relationship has been marked by ups and downs, Evelyn N. Farkas said, and that is normal. The idea, she added, is to work through these disagreements.

"We will continue to work with Russia to find mutually acceptable solutions," Farkas said in her prepared remarks. "We've been managing a significant disagreement with the Russians over Syria."

Still, Farkas said, American officials want to bolster defense cooperation. The United States wants to work on counterproliferation issues with Iran, North Korea, and on counterterrorism and counternarcotics in regions adjacent to Russia.

"Our level of interaction with Russia has increased substantially with the establishment of the Defense Relations Working Group in September 2010," she said. "The working group is intended to create mechanisms for discussion and exchange at the policy level between defense professionals on a range of issues, including defense reform and modernization, missile defense cooperation, defense technology cooperation, and global and regional security issues of mutual interest."

Increased cooperation on Afghanistan tops the U.S. wish list, Farkas said. "Working to bring improved stability to Afghanistan is clearly in U.S. and Russian interests, and Russia continues to be supportive by expanding the Northern Distribution Network and allowing for diversification in the types of cargo that can pass through its territory," she explained. "The U.S. and Russia continue working together to disrupt al-Qaida's and other terrorist groups' operational networks and undermine their access to financial resources."

Continued cooperation to combat piracy off the Horn of Africa also is a U.S. goal, Farkas said.

Even in areas of disagreement there must be conversations, Farkas said. Both Russia and the United States agree that the civil war in Syria should end, she noted, but Russia supports the regime of Bashar Assad. "Both of our countries have been adamant that we remain committed to working with each other to bring the parties together to negotiate a political settlement," she said.

Russia continues to express concern that U.S. and NATO missile defenses could pose a threat to Russia's strategic deterrent, Farkas said, and Russian leaders also question whether Iran really poses a threat.

"We continue to assure Russia that our missile defense efforts are not directed against Russia, nor do they pose a threat to its strategic nuclear deterrent," she said. "And we continue to make the case that the transparency and cooperation we are offering are the best way for Russia to gain the confidence it seeks that our missile defenses do not threaten Russia's strategic deterrent."

Continuing talks on nuclear arms reductions also is important, Farkas said. "We have made clear our willingness to discuss the full range of strategic stability issues of concern to both our countries, and we will continue to seek opportunities to make progress on this agenda," she added.

Farkas echoed a statement President Barack Obama made yesterday in Stockholm on U.S.-Russian relations, citing areas in which U.S. and Russian interests overlap.

The president pointed to progress the two nations have made in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, in Russia joining the World Trade Organization, and in close cooperation on counterterrorism issues. Russia has also provided logistical support to U.S. and NATO forces based in Afghanistan.

Still, the president acknowledged, relations have cooled recently over Syria and over Russia granting asylum to National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden. "But I have not written off the idea that the United States and Russia are going to continue to have common interests even as we have some very profound differences on some other issues," Obama said. "And where our interests overlap, we should pursue common action. Where we've got differences, we should be candid about them --try to manage those differences, but not sugarcoat them."

THE ISTANBUL PROCESS FACT SHEET

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

U.S. Support for the Istanbul Process
Fact Sheet
Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
April 29, 2013

The "Heart of Asia" foreign ministerial in Almaty, Kazakhstan April 26, 2013 continues a high-level dialogue focused on encouraging security, political, and economic cooperation among Afghanistan and its neighbors. This region-led dialogue was launched in November 2011 to expand practical coordination between Afghanistan and its neighbors and regional partners in facing common threats, including counterterrorism, counternarcotics, poverty, and extremism. The United States and over 20 other nations and organizations serve as "supporting nations" to the process.

As a supporting nation, the United States has taken steps to support the six confidence building measures (CBM) endorsed by the "Heart of Asia" group at the Kabul ministerial in June 2012. Some illustrative examples of U.S. government assistance are listed below:

1. COUNTERTERRORISM CBM

• Through its assistance programs, the United States seeks to enhance the capability of the Central Asian States, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to address transnational terrorism through inclusive technical assistance, training and mentoring, and equipment.

• The United States also funds many initiatives that aim to counter violent extremism and support moderate voices through programs in schools, sports organizations, and the media.

2. TRADE, COMMERCE, AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES CBM

• The United States is working with partners in the region to develop a better environment for trade and investment, through various programs that support and facilitate regional and international trade agreements, accession to the World Trade Organization, as well as the reform actions needed to enable private sector investment.

• The United States is committed to expanding economic opportunities and supporting entrepreneurs in the "Heart of Asia" region. Assistance programs provide technical training, credit facilitation, and platforms for networking that build the capacity of local entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and expand regional commercial linkages. U.S. commitment to local procurement and use of the Northern Distribution Network to supply troops in Afghanistan is creating economic opportunity in Central Asia.

3. EDUCATION CBM

• In Afghanistan, the United States teaches English to over 3,200 youth each year. To advance regional collaboration, the United States will convene 225 teachers of English from Central Asia, Afghanistan, and South Asia for the Central Asia Teachers of English Conference.

• The United States assists with quality assurance and accreditation systems to strengthen Afghan higher education and supports eight university partnerships. The United States funds 120 full scholarships for Afghan women to attend the American University of Afghanistan and the American University of Central Asia, and 68 Fulbright Fellowships for aspiring scholars and junior faculty to study at U.S. universities each year.

4. COUNTERNARCOTICS CBM

• U.S. assistance builds the capacity and provides the equipment necessary for "Heart of Asia" countries to effectively fight narcotics trafficking on their borders. The United States also provides mentoring and training to border professionals across the region, as well as equipment such as training facilities, re-locatable border shelters, scanners, and communication equipment.

• The United States also provides counternarcotics assistance through international organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). U.S. funding supports such programs as the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe and OSCE customs and border guard training. UNODC’s support to the drug control agencies of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan and its Container Control Program in Central Asia help with the development of sustainable enforcement structures at select ports of entry to minimize the risk that shipping containers are used for illicit activities.

5. DISASTER MANAGEMENT CBM

• The United States supports several initiatives that provide platforms for actors across Central Asia to work together to anticipate, monitor and respond to natural disasters. U.S. funded programs promote regional collaboration on seismology, seismic hazard assessment, earthquake engineering, and glacier mass balance monitoring. The United States also contributes annually to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance and supports multiple humanitarian NGOs for drought, flood, earthquake, winter response, and disaster risk reduction programs.

6. REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE CBM

• The United States is supporting projects across the "Heart of Asia" region that improve the capacity to produce and transport energy. Projects include the construction of transmission lines; expansion and improvement of the electric grid; facilitation of cross-border regional energy connections; and development of the nascent gas sector in Afghanistan.

• The United States supports many different transportation infrastructure projects across the region. Projects include the rehabilitation of the main transit routes between Afghanistan and Pakistan; the construction and rehabilitation of 650 km of roads in Pakistan’s border regions; supporting the establishment of an Afghan Rail Authority; and funding a feasibility study on the Salang Tunnel.

U.S.-COLUMBIA RELATIONS REGARDING NARCO-TRAFFICKING

Map Credit:  U.S. State Department

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Narcotics and Narco-Trafficking
The United States and Colombia continue to enjoy a close counternarcotics partnership. Under Plan Colombia, significant U.S. funding, technical assistance, and material support has been provided to Colombian-led counternarcotics programs aimed at interdicting and eradicating drugs at the source as well as expanding the capacity of Colombian police, military, and judicial institutions.

Colombia remains one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of cocaine, as well as a source country for heroin and marijuana. According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2010 Cocaine Signature Program, 95.5% of the cocaine seized in the United States originates in Colombia. Colombia’s marijuana is typically not sent to the United States, but feeds internal and Latin American consumption. The Colombian Government, with U.S. support, has made progress in weakening drug trafficking organizations, disrupting the supply of illicit drugs to the United States, and establishing a security presence in former conflict regions. The United States Government found that the area devoted to coca cultivation in 2010 was down 14% compared to 2009, from 116,000 to 100,000 hectares (ha). Crediting sustained aerial and manual eradication operations and aggressive enforcement activity in 2010, the U.S. Government also reported a decline in potential pure cocaine production of 7.4%, from 290 metric tons (MT) in 2009 to 270 MT in 2010--and a 60% drop from the 700 MT estimated pure cocaine production potential in 2001.

Colombia’s counter-insurgency/counternarcotics efforts show promise that they will free up areas previously influenced by narco-trafficking and terrorism. Strong eradication and interdiction programs continue to be essential for disrupting narco-trafficking networks and for thwarting cultivation in Colombia’s more remote areas. The Colombian Government’s National Consolidation Plan, which the U.S. Government supports, is helping to bring the civilian elements of the state to remote, previously ungoverned parts of the national territory. As the state extends its reach, more rural citizens are enjoying access to basic services and protection from FARC influence and intimidation. Some farmers previously forced to grow coca can now safely plant legal, alternative crops without fear of guerrilla retribution.

The United States supports locally-led programs designed to confront multiple aspects of the drug trade and assists the Government of Colombia in re-establishing control and the rule of law in areas threatened by drug-related violence. Primary elements of this comprehensive assistance include illicit crop eradication, interdiction operations, alternative livelihoods programs, institution building, and justice sector reform. Eradication efforts are aimed at preventing and destroying illicit cultivation, while alternative livelihoods projects implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provide economic alternatives to illicit crop production through projects, enterprise development, natural resource protection, institutional strengthening, and promoting access to markets. Work with government and civil society to advance drug demand prevention programs in schools and communities is also an important part of U.S. assistance programs in Colombia.

The United States also provides support to improve the efficiency of Colombia’s accusatory judicial system. U.S. programs help train judges, prosecutors, and police; promote timely and effective investigations and prosecutions of human rights violations; and support the identification and return of missing remains.

The United States and Colombia have an excellent relationship with regard to the extradition of narco-criminals. In 2009, 186 criminals were extradited to the United States, including former AUC leader Hebert Veloza-Garcia (aka "HH") and FARC member Gerardo Antonio Aguilar Ramirez (aka "Cesar"). In 2010, 119 criminals were extradited to the United States, and 195 criminals were extradited in 2011.