The opium trade is a major funding source for the insurgency in Afghanistan. The Afghan counter-narcotics law enforcement agencies continue to target drug traffickers with counterdrug missions in order to break the funding source of the insurgents. This study explores whether a combined U.S. and Afghanistan military-civilian counter-narcotics joint task force should be created to support the fight against counterinsurgencies in the Afghan theater of war. The use of a military-civilian joint task force is a viable solution to a complex problem in Afghanistan. As Afghanistan transitions to stability and security operations, the Afghan National Police (ANP) will assume the mission of counter-narcotics operations. My initial conclusion is that the ANP should be supported by a military-civilian joint task force which would include the Ministry of Defense, the Department of State, and Law Enforcement Agencies that will provide the required resources needed to combat counter-narcotics, thus defeating the counterinsurgency and allowing Afghanistan to achieve maximum success.

ADA 547238 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)