ONDCP DIRECTOR'S APRIL 5-6 VISIT TO THE HAGUE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 THE HAGUE 000814

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UBI, D/HS, EUR/PGI, WHA/AND
INL FOR MCKECHNIE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SNAR KCRM PINS PGOV AF NL CO NS
SUBJECT: ONDCP DIRECTOR'S APRIL 5-6 VISIT TO THE HAGUE



1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Director for the White House Office
of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP),John Walters visited
The Hague on April 5-6, at the end of a three-nation tour
that included stops in Afghanistan and Belgium. Walters met
with Thomas Driessen, Director of the Dutch National Crime
Squad, the Dutch Ministers of Health and Justice--who share
responsibility for drug policy in The Netherlands--and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Political
Affairs Hugo Siblesz. Walters provided a readout of his trip
to Afghanistan, noting that considerable progress had been
made in poppy eradication. He also commended the Dutch for
the substantial steps they have taken to curb their Ecstasy
trade. The Director promised to send an ONDCP staffer to The
Hague soon to further follow-up on the bilateral statement of
cooperation that he and Health Minister Hoogervorst signed
last July. Siblesz updated Walters on the current state of
play in Dutch international anti-drug cooperation,
particularly related to the Caribbean and Latin America.
Walters welcomed the Dutch efforts and expressed his intent
to continue to engage the Dutch on counter-drug initiatives,
particularly in the area of research and drug treatment
efforts. Walters was accompanied by Ambassador Arnall, ONDCP
Special Assistant to the Director James O'Gara, ONDCP
Assistant Deputy Director for the Office of Supply Reduction
Patrick Ward, ONDCP Policy Analyst Charlotte Sisson, DEA
Country Attache Jeffrey Boobar, and US Embassy Officer Lisa
Brooks.


2. (SBU) ONDCP Director Walters' visit to The Hague began
with a briefing from the Director of the National Crime
Squad, Tom Driessen. Driessen noted that his organization
had been operational for only two years, is under the control
of the Justice Minister, and has responsibility for organized
crime, including counter-drug, counterterrorism, and illegal
weapon interdiction operations. He said that the
establishment of the Crime Squad had significantly enhanced
the ability of the Dutch police to cooperate effectively with
international partners; previously investigations of serious
crimes were decentralized in the 25 regional police forces.
He stressed that international cooperation was vital. The
Netherlands is a major transit point for narcotics entering
the European market -- "the Miami of Western Europe" -- and
consequently the Dutch police rely on relationships with
partners, especially in the area of intelligence sharing, to
combat criminal organizations that operate in several
countries. Driessen conceded that insufficient progress had
been made on efforts to track and interdict illicit money.
He noted that Dutch privacy laws and limited resources make
it necessary for police and prosecutors to concentrate on
stopping the sale, production, and distribution of drugs;
following the flow of illicit finances is a lower priority;
this is an area where international assistance is
particularly valuable. He further noted that while countries
such as the United States have a easier time stopping illicit
finances because of more liberal banking laws, in the
Netherlands it is easier to obtain permission to do
wiretapping operations: each system has its advantages and
disadvantages with regards to law enforcement tools at its
disposal. (Comment: Driessen is extremely pro-US and was
instrumental in convincing the GONL to allow DEA agents to
co-locate with the National Crime Squad Cocaine Unit. End
Comment.)


3. (SBU) Driessen noted that the Dutch public continues to
distinguish between "soft" drugs (marijuana) and "hard" drugs
(cocaine and heroin). They tolerate personal consumption of
soft drugs because there are no definitive studies showing
that marijuana has serious health consequences for casual
users. Driessen noted that drug consumption in The
Netherlands has stabilized, and the DEA Attache added that
the average age of first-time drug users is going up in
Holland. The Dutch have the lowest drug addiction rates in
Europe. These factors make it difficult to convince the
general public to view cannabis use as anything other than a
social or public nuisance problem. Driessen added that any
effort to close down all marijuana coffeehouses would likely
be strongly resisted because they are widely viewed as a
unique part of the Dutch character. He did note, however,
that mayors in border cities and in Amsterdam, The Hague, and
Rotterdam have been successful in permanently closing
coffeehouses that have been found to sell cannabis to minors,
sell more than the allotted amount to a single customer, or
violate other laws governing the operation of coffeehouses.

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As a consequence, the total number of coffeehouses in The
Netherlands has steadily declined. (Comment: It is likely
that in a few years, only well-established, law-abiding
coffeeshops will remain in business. End Comment.) Driessen
added that the police are also paying more attention to
combating organized crime groups involved in the production
and trafficking of cannabis. He said there is now less of a
tendency for officials to "close their eyes" to the "back
door" problem of coffee houses being supplied from illegal
indoor marijuana "plantations."


4. (SBU) Driessen noted that Dutch and other nationals have
formed organized crime groups that control cocaine and heroin
distribution in The Netherlands. For example, Colombian,
Surnamese and Eastern European criminal organizations are
active in the country, particularly in Amsterdam and other
major cities. Driessen added that organized crime is not of
the magnitude or scale that is found in the United States or
other European countries. However, there are large profits
to be made in cocaine and heroin smuggling and it remains a
serious problem in The Netherlands with its open borders and
large seaports. He further explained that the Dutch have had
considerable success with the 100 percent check of passengers
coming in from Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles, but
containerized sea cargoes are a viable alternative for
traffickers. (Comment: The Dutch currently only have two
machines to x-ray some 8 million containers per year that
come into the country; at best only 50,000 containers per
year could be x-rayed. End Comment.) Driessen attributed
recent success against Ecstasy production and export to a
combination of good intelligence, a focus on how drug
organizations work, and investigations of money and trade
lines. He added that the Dutch could improve on their use
and application of certain law enforcement methods. For
example, Dutch police are currently prohibited from using
civilian informants in undercover operations. On the other
hand, they make extensive use of wiretaps.


5. (SBU) Director Walters met jointly with Justice Minister
Donner and Health Minister Hoogervorst. Walters provided a
detailed report on his recent visit to Afghanistan. He noted
that this was his third trip to the country in two years, and
he saw marked improvement in Afghan willingness and ability
to eradicate poppy cultivation. While the opium trade
continues to represent a serious threat to the flagging
government of President Karzai, poppy cultivation is down 50
percent overall and down 90 percent in Nangarhar province
from 10 years ago. The ministers were accompanied by Arie
IJzerzman, Director International Criminal Affairs and Drugs
Policy Department, Ministry of Justice, (MoJ); Paul van
Voorst, Head, Drug Policy Coordination Bureau, (MoJ); Gert
Bogers, Senior Policy Advisor, (MoJ); Annemiek van Bolhuis,
Director Nutrition, Health Protection and Prevention
Department, Ministry of Health, (MoH); Senior Advisor Marcel
de Kort, (MoH); and Albert Olthof, Chief, Bureau of
International Police Cooperation, Ministry of Interior.


6. (SBU) In response to a query about how the Dutch could
further assist the United States on drug-related issues, the
Director noted that the United States was keen to increase
cooperation on interdicting precursor chemicals used in the
production of methamphetamines that transit through Dutch
air- and seaports from India and China, destined for
laboratories in Mexico and ultimately into the United States.
Walters added that the United States still considers further
reductions in the flow of South American cocaine and heroin
into the United States as a top priority. Because of Dutch
interests in the region, Director Walters suggested that the
Dutch and the United States could further cooperate in this
area.


7. (SBU) Both Hoogervorst and Donner noted that the Dutch
are working cooperatively with countries around the world to
reduce international drug trafficking. Health Minister
Hoogervorst noted that he had recently returned from a
four-day visit to Colombia and he was impressed by the
Colombians commitment to drug eradication, adding that their
"political survival" depended on it. He said that domestic
consumption is a serious problem for the Colombians as well.
Justice Minister Donner noted that he also had visited
Colombia last August, and he was favorably impressed with the
Colombians anti-drug efforts. He noted a disturbing trend in
the smuggling of cocaine into Europe from Venezuelan ports,

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but was optimistic about an agreement -- currently awaiting
ratification -- with the Venezuelans to boost counter-drug
cooperation; the Surnamese have also requested closer
cooperation, especially on controlling transshipment of drugs
via air travel. Donner was proud that inspections at
Schiphol Airport of aircraft from the Netherlands Antilles
and Suriname had virtually eliminated those distribution
routes. He further noted that The Netherlands, Spain and
France are working cooperatively on efforts to interdict
cocaine coming into Europe by sea, especially in the Costa
del Sol region.


8. (SBU) Donner conceded that progress in other areas of
anti-drug efforts has been mixed. For example he mentioned
that tremendous progress had been made in the GONL 5-year
program to halt the sale, production, and distribution of
Ecstasy. However, he explained that public opinion and tight
resources would make it difficult to mount a systematic
attack against indoor marijuana plantations. He acknowledged
that such plantations are particularly prevalent in the
Rotterdam area; police are employing imagery and heat-seeking
technologies to unearth illegal marijuana growers. Donner
added that "drug tourism" from Belgium, France and elsewhere
is a serious problem, especially in border towns such as
Maastricht. He supports the mayor of Maastricht's initiative
to limit coffeehouses in his city to Dutch residents in an
effort to curb the drug tourism and concomitant crime.


9. (SBU) Director Walters reiterated the U.S. commitment to
the statement he and Hoogervorst signed in July 2005 on
cooperative steps towards demand reduction and research into
the causes and prevention of drug use. Walters noted that he
would soon send an ONDCP staffer to meet with Dutch demand
reduction experts to re-energize the initiative. He added
that he hoped to have a new deputy onboard soon who is an
expert in the field of demand reduction. Hoogervorst was
pleased to hear that the statement would soon be getting
greater attention on the U.S. side and welcomed the exchange
among personnel. Walters indicated that he wanted to explore
joint research opportunities, especially on the topic of
long-term drug consumption. Hoogervorst provided the group
with a readout on a study undertaken last fall on the effects
of increasing levels of THC (psychoactive compound in
marijuana) on humans. He noted that the bottom line of the
study was obvious, "if you smoke marijuana that is twice as
strong, you get twice as stoned." Health Ministry senior
advisor, Marcel de Kort added that the study found that there
were no additional side effects from increasing the levels of
THC in the marijuana that the participants took, simply a
greater intensity of symptoms such as increased blood
pressure and drowsiness. Because the sample size only
included 24 male subjects, it is impossible to draw
meaningful conclusions from this one study.


10. (SBU) Walters also met with MFA Director General for
Political Affairs Hugo Siblesz. Siblesz was accompanied by
Marion Kappeyne van de Coppello, Director Western Hemisphere,
(WHA); and senior advisors Walter Lok and Alexandra
Valkenburg. The foreign ministry was keen to hear Walters'
readout from his trip to Afghanistan. Walters noted that
poppy production is not a "cash cow" for the average Afghan
farmer and that strides were being made to bring
infrastructure and utilities to rural areas to make other
crops viable alternatives. He added that a military presence
alone will not work and that the Karzai government was
showing signs that it was expanding its control outside of
the capital. In most areas, Afghan forces are leading
counter-drug operations with the United States in back-up or
support roles. Siblesz noted that Foreign Minister Bot will
travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan in early May to assess the
situation first hand.


11. (SBU) With regard to anti-drug efforts in other parts of
the world, Siblesz commented that "efforts are up, but so are
the problems." Kappeyne van de Coppello provided Walters
with a readout of Dutch anti-drug initiatives in the
Caribbean and South America. She noted that GONL is closely
cooperating with the UK, France and Spain and wants the
European Commission to step up its financial commitments to
counter-drug efforts in the region. (Comment: The Dutch
hosted a one-day conference on enhancing EU anti-drug
cooperation in the Caribbean on February 9. End Comment.)
In particular, the MFA is interested in exploring and

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eliminating the alliances between drug traffickers, organized
crime groups and abusers of human rights. Kappeyne van de
Coppello added however, that the Dutch respect the fact that
countries such as Bolivia seek to preserve their traditional
uses of coca, but La Paz is virtually powerless to do
anything about overproduction. Director Walters noted that
because Bolivian cocaine is of such a poor quality, little of
it makes it to US shores and it is a bigger problem for
Europe. Kappeyne van de Coppello also noted that the Dutch
have an ongoing project with the Peruvians to help them
identify suspect shipping containers that may contain
contraband. She said that the Surnamese Minister of Justice
was doing an excellent job at counternarcotics control with
few resources. She concluded that the Netherlands Antilles,
particularly Aruba, remain a primary focus for Dutch
anti-drug efforts.


12. (SBU) Comment: Walters had wide-ranging and open
discussions about a variety of drug-related issues with his
Dutch counterparts. He complimented the Dutch on areas where
substantial progress had been made, especially in the
decrease of Ecstasy coming into the United States from The
Netherlands, and he made commitments to continue the positive
bilateral efforts currently underway. For their part, the
Dutch were pleased with the US-Dutch working relations on
drug policy and law enforcement efforts currently underway.
ARNALL