NATO's General Jones briefs OSCE Permanent Council on Afghanistan mission

VIENNA, 14 September 2006 - NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, U.S. Marine Corps General James L. Jones, said today the Alliance was grateful to OSCE participating States that have contributed their troops to the mission in Afghanistan.

There are nearly 20,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan, part of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

"Thirty seven countries are involved in the mission, and 35 of those nations are members of the OSCE, so we are certainly grateful for that contribution," he said speaking at the 56-nation OSCE's Permanent Council, the Organization's main regular decision-making body.

Describing the mission as very complex and cohesive, and one of NATO's most challenging, General Jones said that one of the best achievements was the emergence of the Afghan national army which now numbers nearly 40,000 troops, and is properly organized, trained and equipped.

He also said that the rise in narcotics production was one of the main threats to Afghanistan's security and stability. "We are seeing an increased connection between the Taliban and criminal elements that are drawing their economic nourishment from the narcotics cartels. And we as a family of nations need to do better in tackling this problem."

According to reports, more than 50 percent of Afghanistan's GDP comes from the narcotics production, and "90 percent of the harvest is sold on the streets of the European capitals", added General Jones.

The NATO Commander also said it was wrong to characterize the rise of the violence in Afghanistan as simply the resurgence of the Taliban: "This is inaccurate and does not capture the nature of the problem." Besides the Taliban, he pointed to the remnants of al-Qaeda, and the strong presence of drug cartels, which have their own security apparatus, and are feeding the opposition. There are also simple criminal elements, and the corruption, and violence that goes with tribal interaction.

General Jones leads the Allied Command Operations, which aims to preserve the peace, security and territorial integrity of the NATO member nations. He is also the Commander of the United States European Command.

Afghanistan has been an OSCE Asian Partner for Co-operation since 2003, along with Japan, South Korea, Thailand and Mongolia.