|
Poland offers troops to boost NATOs Afghan force
 WARSAW: Poland said on Thursday it would send 1,000 troops to Afghanistan in the first offer since a NATO appeal for reinforcements, but it was unclear whether any would go to the dangerous south and none would go until February. NATOs top commander of operations James Jones said last week he wanted reinforcements of up to 2,500 in the south by the onset of the Afghan winter in a matter of weeks. Nations had failed at talks on Wednesday to respond with firm offers. We know this will be a dangerous operation, Polands Defence Ministry spokesman Leszek Laszczak said. Poland understands that NATO will have to be more active in Afghanistan. We are well aware of that, and that is why we decided to increase the size of the force. Deputy Defence Minister Boguslaw Winid told Reuters that Poland had agreed with NATO that the bulk of the troops would go to the east of the country. Asked whether it could agree to send some to the south, he said that was a matter of discussion. This is still a subject of discussions. We have to talk through all details with NATO and the final decision will be made by the president soon, he said. This is what we have agreed so far, he added. Posted by: Fred 2006-09-15 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=165933 |