House approves bill limiting Afghan aid

The House passed $6.4 billion legislation Wednesday that would cut off U.S. aid to local governments in Afghanistan with ties to drug dealers, criminals or terrorists, a standard the White House says is unrealistic.

The legislation was pushed heavily by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who said not enough was being done to curb Afghanistan's growing opium market. Its passage marked increasing tension between the Bush administration, which says it has sole province on foreign policy matters, and lawmakers who say Congress must have a role in overseeing assistance programs.

"The time has come for a clear and comprehensive and truly wide-reaching counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan," said Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The White House countered that the bill would tie the president's hands in responding to a complex situation.

"Besides setting an unrealistically high bar, which in fact could encourage the Taliban to promote corruption among local officials, the provision creates a serious barrier to assisting those areas with significant needs," according to an administration statement.

The bill, passed by a 406-10 vote, would authorize $2.1 billion in humanitarian, economic and military assistance programs for budget year 2008, which begins Oct. 1. The remaining $4 billion would be spent through 2010.

Before the final vote, the House adopted 419-1 an amendment that would allow the secretary of state to reward Afghan or Pakistani officials for information leading to the capture of high-profile terrorists operating inside Afghanistan.

A Senate companion bill is still under discussion.

The dispute over Afghanistan assistance comes as opium poppy cultivation is on the rise, and as the Bush administration struggles to make strides in Iraq. According to a House report on the bill, poppy cultivation grew by 59 percent during the 2005-2006 growing season, producing more than 6,000 metric tons of opium.

"The Taliban is back, posing not only an insidious threat to the people of Afghanistan, but to America as well," said Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute, nominated by President Bush to manage the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he agrees that a "long-term, comprehensive approach" against the drug-trade in Afghanistan is necessary.

"If confirmed, I will consider the counter-drug aspect of the campaign in Afghanistan as one element leading to overall success and seek to improve its integration with the other pillars of the strategy," Lute wrote the Senate Armed Services Committee in anticipation of his confirmation hearing Thursday.

The House legislation also requires that Bush appoint a coordinator to oversee a counter-narcotics strategy in Afghanistan, establish a special envoy to encourage Afghanistan-Pakistan cooperation and adopt a policy of encouraging Pakistan to permit shipments from India.

The White House said these provisions overstep Congress' bounds and interfere with the president's authority on foreign affairs.

The cumulative effect of the bill would be "to divert the attention of those with key responsibilities to implement the diplomacy and programs that actually constitute the president's strategy and foreign policy with regard to Afghanistan and the region."