International donors have pledged 4.4 billion US dollar for Afghanistan's reconstruction after President Hamid Karzai appealed for help. The pledge, however, falls way short of 27.5 billion sought by Karzai on Wednesday at a meeting of over 50 donor nations in Berlin to stop his country from becoming a haven for drugs and terrorism. Karzai urged donors to help his country recover from the destruction of decades of war. "What we have achieved is very promising, but let me be frank and say that the reconstruction has only begun," he said. **Inadequate aid*** But aid agencies and think-tanks say the West's commitment to Afghanistan has been lacklustre, and much of the aid it might have won has been diverted to postwar Iraq, which had received 10 times as much despite having roughly the same population. US Secretary of State Colin Powell, in his speech to the conference, expressed hope that Afghanistan would never again harbour groups such as al-Qaida. "Never again will tyrants and terrorists rule Afghanistan and never again will Afghanistan become a seedbed of instability," he said. **US intervention*** The United States during the day also announced that the first of 2,000 Marine reinforcements had arrived in Afghanistan to intensify the hunt for al-Qaida fighters and boost security ahead of elections delayed until September party because of security concerns. However, opium production in Afghanistan, almost eradicated under the Taliban in its last year in power, has since taken off and is reckoned to be worth about half the country's officially estimated gross domestic product of nearly 4 billion US dollar. The country is believed to supply three-quarters of the world's opium. "Nobody wants to be called a drug dealer, especially not a whole nation," Karzai said. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Afghan President Hamid Karzai waves to reporters in front of Bellevue palace in Berlin on Wednesday, March 31, 2004. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)