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NATO nations must share the burden in Afghanistan: general
Kabul (AFP) Sept 27, 2007 NATO nations must share the burden in Afghanistan, the alliance's top military commander said Thursday, repeating calls for more troops and a long-term commitment to the country. All NATO's nations signed up "very clearly and very consciously" to the mission to help stabilise Afghanistan and they had recognised it would be a long push, General Raymond Henault said. "There is a requirement for burden-sharing in this very significant mission for NATO," said the chairman of NATO's military committee. Faced with a fiercer-than-expected Taliban-led insurgency and a mounting troop death toll, some of the 37 nations in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are reconsidering their involvement. There is in particular pressure in Canada and The Netherlands, which are deployed in the dangerous southern areas of Afghanistan, for their mandates in Afghanistan to not be extended. Some of the 37 nations, such as Austria and Switzerland, also only contribute a handful of soldiers to the 40,000-strong ISAF. Henault said force needed more manoeuvre troops and teams to mentor the fledgling Afghan forces, as well as helicopters. NATO also wanted individual nations to reduce the caveats that limit their involvement, he said. Some countries, for example, refuse to deploy to more volatile parts of the country where the insurgency is the strongest. Henault said the security forces in Afghanistan had had some success. "We have visibly weakened the command and control capacity of the opposing military forces -- the extremists and their senior leadership," the Canadian general said. "It is clear to us that the threat is being dealt with, the threat is reducing in some areas of Afghanistan." There had also been significant advances in reconstruction efforts which, along with improving government structures, were key to turning around the insurgency, he said. Critics say however the Taliban's insurgency, launched soon after the extremists were removed from government by a US-led coalition in 2001, is at its most intense yet with increased attacks and a general deterioration in security. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links News From Across The Stans
Pakistan Rejects Bhutto Plan For UN Access To Khan
Islamabad (AFP) Sept 26, 2007Pakistan's government Wednesday condemned ex-premier Benazir Bhutto for saying she would let the UN quiz the disgraced father of the country's nuclear bomb if she regained power. |
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