"There is a big cry to do drug interdiction," he said.

But the officials said the group had not ruled out the possibility of future combat roles for the American military in drug interdiction.

This is the nearest airfield, and no French officials will interfere with drug interdictions.

What contribution to preparedness does the $700 million allocated to drug interdiction make?

During the summer of 2002, the Dallas took part in a new approach to maritime drug interdiction.

The program focuses instead on drug interdiction and crop eradication.

And, he added, the deployment "came at the expense of other important core missions, including drug interdiction."

The Department is well known by locals for aggressive traffic enforcement and drug interdiction.

Those issues have included drug interdiction, welfare reform and, most recently, school-voucher programs.

Top customs officials have already said they are giving lower priority to drug interdiction, which means that counterfeiting has moved even further down the list.