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France may come to Canada's aid in Kandahar
France is seriously considering a military contribution to southern Afghanistan, fuelling optimism NATO won't have to do without Canadian troops in volatile Kandahar. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is said to be seriously considering Canada's position that it would withdraw its 2,500 combat troops from Kandahar next year unless another NATO country can supply an additional 1,000 troops.Prime Minister Stephen Harper spoke to Mr. Sarkozy on Tuesday by telephone and relayed the core demand of the report by the independent panel headed by former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley: that Canadian troops would not stay in southern Afghanistan past February 2009 unless the extra troops were found. In Vilnius, Lithuania, where NATO defence begin two days of meetings, Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is expected to urge the alliance's 26 members to show greater solidarity and end the public finger-pointing. There are fears the public spat could bury recent good news, from NATO's perspective, such as Belgium's commitment of four fighter jets and an extra 140 soldiers this year. There is also talk one or two other countries might announce larger contributions to the war effort. "This is a critical week for the alliance," Christopher Langton, an analyst with the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Agence France Presse. France and Germany, which have about 4,500 troops between them in less volatile parts of Afghanistan, are facing increasing pressure within NATO for more troops in Kandahar, where Canada and its British, U.S. and Dutch allies are doing the bulk of the front-line fighting against the Taliban insurgency. Germany has flatly rejected redeploying any of its 3,200 troops from its area of responsibility in northern Afghanistan, or adding extra to the south. France, however, is considering adding to its 1,300 Afghanistan deployment, most of which is based in Kabul. "People are optimistic Canadians will get the troops. The French are the obvious choice," said a well-placed western official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. A spokesman for the French Embassy in Ottawa said any decisions about further troop deployments were weeks away. Posted by: ryuge 2008-02-07 |
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