| Afghanistan, India, Myanmar and Pakistan were listed in an annual US government report on Monday as part of a total of 20 countries that are major hubs for trafficking or growth of illegal drugs. But in the report, President George Bush determined that only Myanmar and Venezuela had “failed demonstrably” to tackle the problem over the past 12 months, opening the way to withdrawal of certain US aid. The report released by the State Department said that Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government had “strongly attacked” drugs trafficking. But, it said, one-third of the Afghan economy still remains based on opium and was “strengthening the (Taliban) insurgency”. But Christy McCampbell, deputy assistant secretary for international narcotics, told reporters that Bush was “aware of the difficult situation facing President Karzai” and commended his determination to fight drugs. |