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| Europe |
| Norway: Troops likely to stay in Afghanistan until 2015 |
| 2008-02-18 |
| Defense Minister Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen doesn't think soldiers can be withdrawn from Afghanistan for at least seven years. She told newspaper Dagsavisen on Monday that NATO (and NATO member Norway) can't pull out until the Afghan army "functions well." That's likely to take another seven years, she said, noting that the Afghan army now has 40,000 soldiers, and needs at least 80,000. Norway currently has around 500 soldiers in Afghanistan and another 200 will travel to the war-torn country next month. Around 150 will be brought home just before summer. Norway's foreign ministry, meanwhile, is having trouble finding qualified ambassadors to send to Afghanistan and Sudan. Newspaper Dagens Næringsliv recently reported that the ministry is conducting another round of recruiting efforts for the embassies in Kabul and Khartoum, this time offering higher pay and better working conditions. Afghanistan and Sudan receive around NOK 1.3 billion (USD 240 million) annually in foreign aid from Norway. |
| Posted by:mrp |