 Mr. Holbrooke pulled no punches with his comments on anti-narcotics efforts |
US efforts to eradicate opium poppy crops in Afghanistan have been "wasteful and ineffective", the US envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan says.
Richard Holbrooke said the $800m (£550m) a year the US was spending on counter-narcotics would be better used in supporting Afghan farmers.
He said the US also wanted to see an increase in the numbers and capacity of Afghan police.
The US is currently conducting a review of policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Efforts to eradicate poppy cultivation, Mr. Holbrooke told a conference in Belgium - the Brussels Forum - had failed to make an impact on the Taliban insurgents' ability to raise money from the drugs trade.
"It hasn't hurt the Taliban one iota," he said, "because whatever money they're getting from the drugs trade, they get whatever they need whether we reduce the acreage or not."
The US said last month that poppy cultivation had been reduced by 19% last year. Despite the drop, the UN estimates that Afghanistan accounts for 90% of the world's illicit heroin supply.
"The United States alone is spending over $800m a year on counter-narcotics. We have gotten nothing out of it, nothing," he said.
"It is the most wasteful and ineffective programme I have seen in 40 years."
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