NATO Under Pressure For More Afghan Troops
A Canadian soldier in Kandahar.
BRUSSELS - The United States will lead pressure on European allies to supply more troops and equipment to fight Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan at NATO talks on Wednesday but could come away frustrated, alliance sources said.
Defense chiefs will however reaffirm their commitment to maintaining a 17,000-strong peace force in the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo amid uncertainty over its future.
They could also discuss NATO member Turkey’s threat of incursions into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish separatists.
The familiar U.S. refrain on Afghanistan will have a sharper edge than usual at the two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in the Dutch coastal resort of Noordwijk because key nations are under public pressure to pull out troops.
The Netherlands is studying whether to extend past August next year the mandate for its 1,600 troops in the thick of the violence in the south, a move that could influence Canada’s decision on renewing the mandate for its force in early 2009.
The Dutch government hopes the meeting on its home soil will help convince a skeptical public and parliament of the need for the mission. It is also expected to appeal to allies to offer more troops so that it can at least slim down its presence.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates accused allies on Monday of not living up to past promises on troops, equipment and army trainers, setting the tone for what could be fraught talks.
“The secretary does not seek to single out or embarrass any one nation but remind this powerful alliance of their moral responsibility and collective commitments made at Riga,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said of a pledge made by NATO leaders at a summit in Latvia last year to ensure success in Afghanistan.
Reuters article by Mark John here.
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Proud Canadian. I can tell you right now, only those running for election who are in support of this war will get my vote! Hope that the PC stand its ground and extends Canada’s role. Whenever peace is at stake we have always stood up and lets hope we do the same now!
October 24th, 2007 at 7:01 am