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Former 'drug czar' McCaffrey visits St. Louis

Barry McCaffrey (UPI photo)
Barry McCaffrey (UPI photo)

By Kevin Lavery, KWMU

St. Louis, MO – McCaffrey's visit to St. Louis coincided with a meeting between President Bush and Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

The two leaders pledged to eliminate opium production in Afghanistan.

McCaffrey said drug makers undermine Islamic law and culture:

"You (drug makers) also act as a blowtorch on any attempt to construct a democratic government," McCaffrey said.

"Karzai can't possibly defeat the warlords if they're being fueled by hundreds of millions of dollars worth of drug-related money. We have to take on the issue."

McCaffrey added that drug use among U.S. troops in Afghanistan is not a serious problem, but warned that the military must be alert to the accessibility of drugs there.

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