Gates To Warn Faltering NATO On Taliban Risk
NYSUN:
The threatened withdrawal of European troops from Afghanistan puts at risk NATO’s mission to eradicate the Taliban and prevent the return of Al Qaeda, Defense Secretary Gates will warn his counterparts at a NATO summit opening in the Netherlands tomorrow.
Unless European countries can commit more forces and equipment without delay, America will begin to withdraw troops from Kosovo, the troubled province of Serbia, and transfer them to Afghanistan, Mr. Gates will announce.
The Canadians, the Dutch, and, since the election of a new prime minister yesterday, the Poles have all expressed their intention of withdrawing, reducing, or reallocating their military personnel from the Afghan front line, to the frustration of the American, British, and Australian administrations, whose forces largely bear the brunt of the fierce fighting with the Taliban.
Mr. Gates expressed his frustration at the Europeans’ apparent lack of commitment to the Afghan cause yesterday at a meeting of southeastern European defense ministers in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, where he was trying to persuade the new pro-Western government of Ukraine to send forces to Afghanistan.
“I am not satisfied that an alliance with members who have over 2 million soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen cannot find the modest additional resources that have been committed for Afghanistan,” Mr. Gates told journalists.
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The threatened withdrawal of European troops from Afghanistan
What I read, it’s more question on a withdraw from Irak than Afghanistan
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:12 amThe article is inaccurate on Canada - our government has NOT decided to withdraw or reallocate its troops. It hasn’t made a decision either way yet, and I think that is largely because Harper has a minority government and the opposition have been yapping about withdrawing them since the day Harper took power. I expect that they will stay where they are.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:32 amUnfortunately, what I have read on this topic in other articles isn’t that necessarily they are pulling troops out (however European nations probably are) but that they are not delivering on what was promised in the first place.
More military resources were promised from those nations than what they are delivering. That is what Gates is upset about from what I have read.
Which most likely is caused by the bickering about pulling troops out or not.
So I agree that I do not believe this article appropriately presents what is going on.
October 23rd, 2007 at 10:49 amI understood that they wait for the next meeting in a few days, but more for the next year meeting which is supposed to redefine the NaTO organisation, wether it will remain under US control or EU contro, who is going to be part of it, and it is still question of “Ballistic Missile Defense in Europe” and Kossovo
October 23rd, 2007 at 11:35 amI would be happy to see our people withdrawn from the stain that is Kosovo.
Thousands of Kosovar Christian Serbs have been murdered by KLA Irhabis right under the noses of NATO.
Hundreds of ancient Orthodox Christian churches have been destroyed and gravestones uprooted to erase historical proof of Serbian occupancy of the region for centuries.
I believe Clinton and Soros conspired to attack Serbia to acquire the mining interests in Kosovo. The so called genocide was a “Wag the dog” production to enflame the populace of the US and Europe.
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:13 pm