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On the other hand, the consensus among most U.S. narcotics officials throughout Southeast Asia is that funding for narcotics assistance programs has been adequate. In their judgment, the capacity of the governments to absorb large amounts of financial and material assist- ance is limited and assistance programs for Southeast Asia should be based upon this reality.
Despite the fact that most officials are agreed that funds for pro- grams in Southeast Asia have been sufficient, there is friction between many narcotics control officials and several Agency for International Development officials over the kind of assistance that the United States should furnish.
For example, many U.S. officials, particularly BNDD, are critical of the way in which narcotics assistance programs are formulated and administered by the Agency for International Development. Accord- ing to these officials, AID does not understand the nature of the inter- national narcotics control assistance problem. The consensus was that, philosophically, AID thinks in terms of long-range development and that for this reason, the agency is slow to fund narcotics assistance programs which are not related to the long-term objective of institu- tion building. It is the view of these officials that the crisis nature of the drug abuse problem in the United States is so acute that funds must be expended on programs which will have an immediate impact. AID, on the other hand, argues that these criticisms are unwar- ranted and that the Agency will furnish assistance wherever and whenever it can be proved that such assistance can be effectively used. In the judgment of the survey team, these differences must be resolved at the White House level. Narcotics control assistance pro- grams cannot be effective if bureaucratic tensions between BNDD and Customs, on the one hand, and AID, on the other, over the type of assistance that is to be furnished, are permitted to continue. The result would be a diminished effort and an eventual competition for funds.
In addition to bilateral assistance programs, the United States also contributes to the United Nations Special Fund for Drug Abuse Control.