While the European Union (EU) is reportedly considering a plan to legalize Afghan opium, the Bush administration has appointed a "drug czar" to oversee drug-eradication efforts in Afghanistan.

The Spero Forum reported April 4 that U.S. officials blame a lack of coordination and interagency rivalries for the revival of the Afghan opium trade, which largely benefits their Taliban opponents.

The new Bush drug czar is Thomas Schweich, a midlevel diplomat whose appointment has been criticized as too weak by some Republicans in Congress.

Schweich has pledged to increase the number of opium-free Afghan provinces from 6 to 12 by the end of 2006, but Afghan President Hamid Karzai has blocked many aggressive drug-eradiction efforts on the grounds that they will hurt farmers, and EU nations are giving serious consideration to legalizing the Afghan opium crop to undermine traffickers and the Taliban.