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More troops needed to secure Afghanistan's lawless border: military
Brussels (AFP) June 12, 2008 Coalition forces will suffer more casualties and take longer to secure Afghanistan's lawless border with Pakistan without more troops, a senior US military official said here Thursday. Vice Admiral William Sullivan also expressed concern that Pakistan will remove troops from its side of the border as part of peace deals the new government has struck with militants in the tribal areas. "Peace agreements allow the opposing militant forces to regroup, resupply, retrain themselves. And so we think it gives them breathing room without being threatened on the Pakistan side of the border," said Sullivan. NATO defence ministers meeting here are expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan over dinner Thursday. The review comes amid heightened tension with Pakistan in the wake of a US air strike that Islamabad says killed 11 Pakistani soldiers but which the United States has defended as a "legitimate" response to an attack by insurgents. Sullivan, the senior US military represenatative on NATO's military committee, said more troops were needed to stop the flow of fighters from Pakistan into southern and eastern Afghanistan. "Can it be solved without additional forces? The commander's assessment is yes, it could be," Sullivan told reporters. "But it will take longer, it would likely result in more casualties to allied troops in the time that it takes to achieve these results without more forces," he said. The United States has pressed allies to commit more troops to Afghanistan and to lift restrictions on their use. But so far the response has been tepid. At a NATO summit in Bucharest in April, France agreed to send 700 additional troops, which will deploy later this year in an area near Kabul in eastern Afghanistan. The United States also deployed 3,500 marines this year, but they are due to leave in November. Sullivan said that, including the US contribution, about 8,000 troops have been added to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force this year. NATO says there are now 52,700 troops in ISAF. Sullivan said that is still three battalions short of the approved requirement. ISAF's former commander, General Dan McNeill, has said 10,000 troops are needed. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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Pakistan slams 'cowardly' US for killing 11 soldiers
Peshawar, Pakistan (AFP) June 12, 2008Pakistan said a "cowardly" air strike by US-led forces killed 11 Pakistani troops on Wednesday near the Afghan border and warned that it had harmed cooperation in the war against terrorism. |
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