WASHINGTON — Four House Republicans yesterday urged the Bush administration to rethink its policy on opium production in Afghanistan, saying more needs to be done to counter the growing threat of narcoterrorism.

The lawmakers, in a letter to Secretary of State Rice and Defense Secretary Gates, said America must end its dispute with Britain over opium eradication and design a uniform counternarcotics policy with the British and NATO.

They also suggested a “ride-along policy” where Drug Enforcement Administration agents could join American and international military forces in unsecured areas where the DEA is targeting illicit drugs and drug kingpins.

“It is time for some new thinking to ensure that Afghanistan does not fall into a failed narcostate status and become, once again, a safe haven for Al Qaeda,” wrote Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Reps. Mike Pence of Indiana and Elton Gallegly and Dana Rohrabacher, both from California.

Their proposal included:

• Appointing a high-level coordinator of overall Afghan narcoterrorism policy.

• Doing more to extradite to America major drug kingpins and drug warlords.

• Giving Colombia’s National Police anti-narcotic unit a greater role in training their Afghan counterparts.

• Promoting Afghan trade to provide alternatives to poppy farming.

• Testing the use of herbicides that do not harm the environment or humans.

White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said he had not seen the letter. But he said the administration has undertaken a review of policy in Afghanistan “given the changed circumstances after five years of American assistance” and that President Bush has committed additional resources and personnel to the effort to establish a stable democracy there.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen welcomed the administration’s recently announced request for $10.6 billion over the next two years to improve Afghanistan’s infrastructure, economy, and security. But she said the threat from illicit drugs “will not be alleviated solely by investing more resources.”

The British, who are leading counternarcotic efforts in Afghanistan, have objected to American eradication policy. They say it fuels the insurgency in a country where anywhere between 30% and 60% of gross domestic product comes from opium production.

An estimated 93% of the world’s opium comes from Afghanistan. Trade in opium and heroin, much of it headed for Europe and Asia, brings in as much as $2 billion a year.

Proceeds from drug sales have allowed the Taliban and anti-American forces to buy sophisticated weapons including night vision goggles and more deadly land mines.