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| Afghanistan/South Asia | |||
| NATO Takes on Bigger Role in Afghanistan | |||
| 2005-09-04 | |||
| KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - As the NATO armored car inches through a crowded Kabul market, its machine gun sweeping over the heads of shoppers, the Portuguese officer on board banters with street kids and traders, exchanging waves and smiles. It's that rapport on the ground that is encouraging NATO commanders as they increase their peacekeeping forces to protect the Sept. 18 legislative election from worsening violence that has claimed 1,100 lives in the past six months. ``The people here are tired,'' says the officer, Lt. Lee Chin, as his patrol moves on to a school that will serve as a polling station. ``They had 20 years of war with the Russian guys then with the Taliban. Now I think they want peace.'' Four years after 9/11 and the U.S. invasion a month later to overthrow the Taliban regime, U.S. forces are gradually handing primary responsibility for security in the country to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The entire international security operation in Afghanistan is to come under the command of NATO, which is sending more troops from Canada and European allies. That could see NATO for the first time taking on high-intensity combat missions against remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaida, a prospect that has raised concerns among some allies - notably Germany and France which are worried that merging the missions could undermine the alliance's peacekeeping role.
Under the plan, German troops will take the lead role in the north, Italians in the west, British in the south and Americans under NATO command in the east. French and Turkish troops will lead in Kabul - working alongside Afghanistan's fledgling army and police.
Chin's commando unit has been in Kabul for a month, and he says NATO's role in helping reconstruction and security has paid dividends. ``The people are friendly to ISAF, they know we're here to help,'' he said. ISAF stands for International Security Assistance Force. NATO has boosted its presence to 11,000, flying in 2,000 extra troops, mostly from Romania, Spain and the Netherlands, as well as more airpower spearheaded by six French Mirage jet fighters. The U.S. also has reinforced its coalition force of 19,000. Jones said that's ample to meet the Taliban threat. ``This is not a coordinated threat that we think could lead to any greater degree of insurrection,'' he told reporters. But some wonder whether the NATO allies have the stomach for the more dangerous combat zones. ``It's a huge decision for them to take; there will obviously be some that are averse to shifting the role,'' said Samina Ahmed, south Asia project director with the International Crisis Group think tank. ``There are real issues of security here; there isn't really as yet on the part of any NATO state an intention to expand the numbers drastically,'' she said by telephone from the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
Jones said the decision by Lithuania to take on a difficult posting in the remote western province of Ghor just a year after joining NATO was a ``defining moment'' that inspired stronger, more established NATO members to increase their role. | |||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Jones said the decision by Lithuania to take on a difficult posting in the remote western province of Ghor just a year after joining NATO was a ``defining moment'' that inspired stronger, more established NATO members to increase their role. In other words, they were SHAMED into acting by Lithuania. God Bless 'em! |
| Posted by: Ptah 2005-09-04 05:59 |