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France's Kouchner says can't stay in Afghanistan for ever
Kabul (AFP) April 12, 2008 French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Saturday that international forces would not stay in Afghanistan for ever and Afghans had to take over more responsibilities. Arriving in Kabul a week after France vowed to nearly double the number of its forces in Afghanistan to 3,000, Kouchner said the foreign military muscle and financial aid ploughed into Afghanistan needed an end product. "We're not going to leave tomorrow, and we're not going to stay for ever," he told French and other international troops at Camp Warehouse, a major base for NATO-led forces outside Kabul. "Between the two, we for our part will take account of the responsibilities of the Afghans while they, on their side, assume their responsibilities. "As soon as that is possible, we will withdraw and hand over to them." Kouchner was to hold talks with President Hamid Karzai on preparations for an international aid conference which Paris is hosting on June 12. He will also visit the southern city of Kandahar, former stronghold of the hardline Taliban militia, along with his Canadian counterpart Maxime Bernier, who was due to land later in the weekend. International-backed forces ousted the Taliban militia from power more than six years ago, but the hardline Islamic militia has stepped up its insurgency over the past year. A total of about 70,000 foreign soldiers, most of them under NATO command, are still locked down in Afghanistan battling the insurgency. Kouchner said the French deployments were partly designed to help train the Afghan army, and a battalion of 700 would be sent to the troubled east. "We will not win this war, we won't lost it either, but we have to win the hearts of the Afghans," he said. "Our goal is to get closer to the Afghans. We are not waging war against Afghans, but with the Afghans against terrorism." Kouchner, who flew in from neighbouring Tajikistan, from where some French troops carry out operations in Afghanistan, said military might alone was not enough, pointing to agriculture as another area to help with. France has six warplanes based at Kandahar, with around 160 troops at Kandahar air base. The south has seen some of the fiercest fighting. About 1,600 French soldiers are based in the Kabul region. Canada, for its part, has around 2,500 troops in southern Afghanistan, and has seen 82 of them killed since 2002. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links News From Across The Stans
China supports Pakistan stability measures: Hu
Boao, China (AFP) April 11, 2008Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday told his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf he supported measures taken by the South Asian government to maintain stability, Chinese state media reported. |
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