RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
U.S., Canadian and British troops do most of the fighting in Afghanistan, but U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been pressuring other NATO countries to do more. Now Britain's defense minister is saying the same thing. John Hutton will make the case when NATO discusses the future of Afghanistan in two weeks. He spoke with us yesterday from the British embassy in Washington, D.C.
Mr. JOHN HUTTON (British Defense Minister): Well, I'm quietly optimistic that when we gather together in Strasburg, more NATO countries will be committing more resources to the campaign in Afghanistan. I mean, this is the defining conflict, I think, for NATO in this part of the 21st century, this battle against violent extremism. And Europe has got to recognize the importance of this threat.
And we can contribute in a number of different ways. I mean, I'm not going to decry training of the Afghan police, the Afghan army, because these are very important functions that need to be done. But right now I think a premium attaches to the troops that are able to engage in military operations without caveats, without restrictions, and in that way able to support those of us like the U.S., Canada, Australia - many, many other nations who, as you would expect, have committed combat troops on the ground.
MONTAGNE: Well, actually, not many. The burden is being borne by the U.S., Canada, Britain. Other troops - it's part of the way NATO does business that these countries are able to say, I will send troops with the caveat that they aren't sent where the fighting is.
Mr. HUTTON: Well, I agree very strongly with what Secretary Gates has said, that we need more troops in Afghanistan with fewer caveats. But I think it's also a mistake, however, Renee, to assume that because the main portion, let's say, of French troops are in the North, that they're out of harms way. That's not true.
Let's remind ourselves that French fast jets are flying out of Kandahar Air Base in support of coalition NATO forces in the southern part of Afghanistan, where the fighting is at its most intense.
MONTAGNE: One of the biggest and most intractable problems in Afghanistan continues to be the poppy trade, which finances not just the drug lords but the Taliban. Britain, for years, was in charge of ending this poppy trade and really had, with all due respect, not great success. Is there a new strategy that will work?
Mr. HUTTON: Well, I think you're quite right. Our strategy so far has not succeeded in the way that we would've liked. British forces have been very heavily involved in the south of Afghanistan very recently. And we've had significant success tracking down drugs, destroying the laboratories.
It is absolutely at the top of my list of priorities, certainly in the context of the British operation, to really intercept this poisonous trade in drugs, which is helping the extremists to kill our guys on the streets there.
MONTAGNE: You're suggesting that you're going after the drug labs. You're not going after the farmers who are growing the poppy?
Mr. HUTTON: Remember, these are the local Afghans whose hearts and minds we've got to win over. The military effort should be focused, for example, on those who are trading in drugs. For the local civilian population in Afghanistan it's about giving alternative economic choices. And that's what we've got to develop.
MONTAGNE: We're speaking with British Defense Minister John Hutton. How long do you see foreign troops being in Afghanistan, and do you see an increase in the number of British troops being sent there?
Mr. HUTTON: Well, I mean, I think NATO forces will be in Afghanistan for many years to come. It's difficult to be absolutely precise about that prediction. As for British forces are concerned, look, you know, we are the second largest contributor there, nearly 9,000 British troops. If it's necessary to reinforce that mission, we will do that.
MONTAGNE: So it is possible that Britain, like the U.S., will send more troops to Afghanistan?
Mr. HUTTON: Well, we look at this on a regular basis, and we've recently reinforced the mission there by several hundred extra troops. And we do whatever is necessary to protect British forces and help our mission in NATO succeed.
MONTAGNE: British Defense Minister John Hutton, speaking to us from the British embassy in Washington, D.C.
Thank you very much.
Mr. HUTTON: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
