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| Afghanistan |
| Afghanistan: Elections the 'key' in Taliban fight, says NATO official |
| 2008-12-17 |
| (AKI) - Presidential elections due in Afghanistan next year will be 'key' in the fight against the Taliban, the President of NATO's top body, the Military Committee, Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, said on Tuesday. Speaking to journalists in Brussels, Di Paola downplayed recent claims that the Taliban has the upper hand, claiming that security is only "critical" in three southern Afghan provinces. However, he called on European allies to commit more troops to the country. A report by a leading international think-tank last week said the Taliban dominated 72 percent of Afghanistan, up from 54 percent a year ago. The report was published by the highly respected International Council on Security and Development (the former Senlis Council). "I notice that areas are defined as under Taliban control just because they have carried out an attack there," Di Paola said. "In actual fact there are only three critical provinces - Helmand, Uruzgan and Kandahar." The overall security situation in Afghanistan is not as bad as media reports suggest, he said. Voter registration in the provinces to the north and west of Kabul is already going very well and has also begun in some provinces to the south of the capital, he said. "It's a process that's in everyone's interests." NATO leads a force of 51,350 international troops from 41 countries, currently deployed in Afghanistan. "The operation in Afghanistan remains a priority for NATO. Our commitment to the country remains, knowing that 2009 will be an important, a key year, especially in view of the forthcoming polls," said Di Paola. Despite recent attacks by the Pakistani Taliban against NATO supply lines in northwest Pakistan, these have not been severed, Di Paola asserted. "I can assure you that NATO convoys are continuing to arrive regularly. ISAF (the NATO-led security force) commanders assure me that the supply lines remain open," he said. "It is in the interests of the government and the Pakistani army and the well-paid Pakistani truck drivers, that these convoys keep getting through," Di Paola said. He rejected a claim by the main truckers' association that it had stopped sending goods from the country's main port in Karachi. NATO is nonetheless mulling alternative supply routes into Afghanistan, Di Paola confirmed. "It is negotiating with Afghanistan. Clearly the more routes we have the better," he said. Russia and the central Asian republics of Uzbekistan and Turkemenistan are believed to be under consideration by NATO as alternative transport routes for shipping supplies to Afghanistan. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 I think it's a scalp bounty and rot gut whiskey. |
| Posted by: ed 2008-12-17 09:32 |
| #2 I'd say killing more black turbaned POS would be the master key. Ya know, until they get the point. heh |
| Posted by: Last Breath Farm Resident 2008-12-17 08:23 |
| #1 Oi vey. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-12-17 03:53 |