.NATO baulks at Afghan fight
NATO defence ministers have concluded two days of talks in Krakow amid indications that few allies were willing to offer significant additional combat troops for Afghanistan — but some might try to compensate by sending more civilians to train local security forces and build the country's economy.
The announcement that the Obama Administration would send 17,000 more American troops to Afghanistan by the middle of this year was met with formal offers from allies of a few hundred additional troops of their own.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, speaking at the end of the talks on Friday, stressed the importance of having enough troops to guarantee that national elections in Afghanistan, set for August, were safe and credible.
He went out of his way to compliment a handful of countries that, like the US, have contributed troops and civilian development teams.
But in a tacit acknowledgement that other countries would be unwilling or unable to send more combat forces, Dr Gates appealed for them to send civilians to carry out important, non-combat development tasks.
NATO's supreme allied commander, General John Craddock, said he left the session optimistic that two to three additional battalions — totalling perhaps a few thousand troops in all — would be sent by allies in time for the elections. He said one option under consideration was for troops now assigned to the NATO rapid reaction force, which is not deployed, to be sent to Afghanistan for duty before and during the elections.
Nearly a dozen countries had pledged to supply extra troops "to provide security for the upcoming election", Dr Gates' press secretary, Geoff Morrell, told reporters.
The largest military contribution was from Germany, which promised 600 more troops, he said.
Of the countries promising additional help, 15 are NATO member states. The contributing countries were not named, though a defence official speaking anonymously said France had not made any further commitment.
During the talks in Poland, Dr Gates had urged the 26-nation military bloc to provide more forces to fight the Taliban, help train police and fight corruption within the Afghan government.
"If other countries are unable to strengthen their military commitment but they are willing and able to make a contribution on the stability side, on the development, governance side, those contributions would be very welcome," he said.
The August 20 elections will be a test of NATO's efforts to help spread security and democracy, and could raise questions about the alliance's future direction.
A roadside bomb killed three coalition troops during a patrol in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province on Friday, the US coalition said.
No other information was released, including the troops' nationalities. US, Dutch and Australian troops operate in Oruzgan.
The Age
The announcement that the Obama Administration would send 17,000 more American troops to Afghanistan by the middle of this year was met with formal offers from allies of a few hundred additional troops of their own.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, speaking at the end of the talks on Friday, stressed the importance of having enough troops to guarantee that national elections in Afghanistan, set for August, were safe and credible.
He went out of his way to compliment a handful of countries that, like the US, have contributed troops and civilian development teams.
But in a tacit acknowledgement that other countries would be unwilling or unable to send more combat forces, Dr Gates appealed for them to send civilians to carry out important, non-combat development tasks.
NATO's supreme allied commander, General John Craddock, said he left the session optimistic that two to three additional battalions — totalling perhaps a few thousand troops in all — would be sent by allies in time for the elections. He said one option under consideration was for troops now assigned to the NATO rapid reaction force, which is not deployed, to be sent to Afghanistan for duty before and during the elections.
Nearly a dozen countries had pledged to supply extra troops "to provide security for the upcoming election", Dr Gates' press secretary, Geoff Morrell, told reporters.
The largest military contribution was from Germany, which promised 600 more troops, he said.
Of the countries promising additional help, 15 are NATO member states. The contributing countries were not named, though a defence official speaking anonymously said France had not made any further commitment.
During the talks in Poland, Dr Gates had urged the 26-nation military bloc to provide more forces to fight the Taliban, help train police and fight corruption within the Afghan government.
"If other countries are unable to strengthen their military commitment but they are willing and able to make a contribution on the stability side, on the development, governance side, those contributions would be very welcome," he said.
The August 20 elections will be a test of NATO's efforts to help spread security and democracy, and could raise questions about the alliance's future direction.
A roadside bomb killed three coalition troops during a patrol in Afghanistan's Oruzgan province on Friday, the US coalition said.
No other information was released, including the troops' nationalities. US, Dutch and Australian troops operate in Oruzgan.
The Age
posted by madtom at 11:10 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home