211. Circular Airgram CA-4945 from the Department of State to all NEA
Diplomatic and Consular Posts1
2
Washington, November 1, 1971.
SUBJECT:
-
NEA Narcotics Control
Programs
Because of the importance to the United States of illicit narcotics
activities in the NEA area, the Bureau
has been in the process of intensifying its focus on drug problems
extending beyond those of opium production and trafficking in Turkey. An
NEA inter-agency working group has
been established composed of AID, BNDD, CIA,
Customs, Treasury, and interested Department offices. Programs are being
developed for a number of countries, on which posts will be asked to
comment.
At the outset, a need was felt for a short NEA concept paper to (1) outline the general problem, (2)
set out the principles under which we should operate, and (3) define our
objectives. Such a paper has now been approved. A copy is enclosed for
your guidance.
[Page 2]
[Page 3]
Enclosure
October 19,
1971
CONCEPT PAPER
AN ANTI NARCOTICS PROGRAM FOR THE
NEAR EAST AND SOUTH ASIA
- I.
-
Introduction
All the major problems associated with opium-based narcotics
are found in the NEA area:
cultivation, opium production, heroin factories, illicit
traffic, and addiction. In addition, hashish and marijuana
are produced, trafficked in, and consumed in most NEA countries.
The problems are compounded by the inability of some
governments to exercise control over significant portions of
their territories. Other countries, notably India, have not
yet had their control systems put to a real test.
Further, the importance of narcotics’ problems as seen by the
United States is not shared to the same extent by many
governments in the region. Other economic and social
concerns take much higher priorities.
Governmental sensitivities to outside interference and
pressures constitute an additional hindrance.
Nonetheless, the importance of NEA countries in production of opium (perhaps
as much as 1500 metric tons a year, both licit and illicit)
and as a major conduit to the United States and Western
Europe, dictates that an imaginative and vigorous program be
agreed on and initiated at the earliest possible time.
Furthermore, various NEA
nations have serious addiction problems of their own,
creating a heavy local demand for narcotics and an incentive
to local production and smuggling. These factors must be
taken into account. In addition, there will be an interest
in curative and rehabilitative techniques which have been
developed in the U.S.
- II.
-
General Principles
- A.
- U.S. participation should be overt and in support
of programs and initiatives of local governments and
regional or international organizations,
particularly the U.N.
- B.
- Where desirable, encouragement should be given to
cooperative efforts among sub-regional groupings
among countries where a facet of the problem is not
confined within one border and multilateral actions
are required.
- C.
- Illegal narcotics production, trafficking, and
addiction are world problems, not just those of the
U.S., and every effort should be made to convince
the governments and, to the extent possible, the
peoples of the area that these problems and the
fallout therefrom are very much their concerns
also.
- D.
- We should determine which countries would be more
amenable to approaches or offers of assistance from
international organizations such as the UN or from regional
organizations such as the Permanent Anti-Narcotics
Bureau of the Arab States League, and we should plan
appropriate ways of assisting such international and
regional organizations in strengthening their own
programs and activities.
- III.
-
Objectives
- A.
- Short-term:
- 1.
- To stop the flow of illicit narcotics from
NEA countries to
the U.S. either by direct or indirect routes by:
- a.
- stimulating the passage and enforcement of
national laws against illicit trafficking;
- b.
- assisting by helping to strengthen internal
law enforcement and border control
capabilities;
- c.
- making assistance available to UN, regional,
and sub-regional bodies pursuing this
objective;
- d.
- encouraging participation by regional States
in international efforts aimed at more effective
drug control, including a strengthened single
convention on narcotic drugs and the UN Special Fund for Drug
Abuse Control.
- 2.
- To eliminate illegal production of
poppy-derived narcotics by:
- a.
- supporting passage and strengthening of
national laws against illegal production;
- b.
- offering detection assistance, sharing
intelligence with local narcotics authorities, and
supporting through the various means available to
us, local efforts to uncover and prosecute drug
traffickers;
- c.
- encouraging countries in the area to support
the U.S. amendment to the Single
Convention.
- 3.
- In cooperation with local governments, UN, and regional
organizations, to help educate local populations
concerning their own narcotics menace.
- B.
-
Long-range:
(Note the delineation between long-range and
short-range objectives should not be regarded as
sharp and distinct. Elements of the two may
overlap.)
To eliminate opium-poppy growing by:
- 1.
- supporting an international convention against poppy
cultivation as well as national laws outlawing the
same;
- 2.
- developing and supporting international enforcement
efforts;
- 3.
- developing a medicinal substitute for codeine and other
needed opium derivatives;
- 4.
- developing crop substitutes and persuading present
opium-growers to accept them; taking other measures to help
countries overcome the economic dislocations associated with
cessation of illicit production and trafficking;
- 5.
- cooperating with countries on matters of treatment,
rehabilitation, and related research in cases where
addiction is a problem in efforts first to reduce and
eventually eliminate it.
