Afghan leader Hamid Karzai said Saturday that fighting the country's booming illegal drug economy is his most pressing task. "The fight against narcotics will be my top priority in the future," Karzai said in a written statement after talks in the Afghan capital with visiting NATO officials led by U.S. Gen. James L. Jones, the alliance's top commander in Europe. "We will put all our means in the eradication, interdiction and destruction of labs, but we also need the support of the international community to provide alternative livelihoods to the farmers," Karzai said. The U.S.-backed interim leader is on the brink of a new five-year term after winning a majority in Afghanistan's Oct. 9 presidential election, and is expected to announce a raft of muscular new anti-drug policies.
