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February 20, 2009

NATO Countries to Boost Presence in Afghanistan
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=226B6C7:A6F02AD83191E16071B2224432498096B3350E090FE6A6E8&
 
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says about 20 NATO members pledged new
commitments to Afghanistan 
US Secretary for Defense Robert Gates during a round table session at
NATO defense ministers meeting in Krakow, Poland, 19 Feb 2009U.S.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said more countries engaged in
Afghanistan are increasing military and civilian contributions, as the
U.S. presses for greater cooperation in the fight against a renewed
Taliban insurgency. Gates said on Friday that about 20 countries pledged
new commitments to Afghanistan during two days of meetings with NATO
defense ministers in Krakow, Poland. The American defense secretary has
been urging NATO members to contribute more troops to the security
effort in Afghanistan as it readies for national elections in August. He
said if NATO allies are unable to increase their military commitment,
then civilian contributions would be welcome. That includes helping the
Kabul government by building Afghanistan's infrastructure, or providing
other assistance. The talks in Poland follow President Barack Obama's
announcement that the United States plans to send 17,000 more troops to
Afghanistan, bringing the total U.S. force there to about 55,000
soldiers. The international force in Afghanistan includes another 30,000
foreign troops, mainly from NATO countries. Germany and Italy both have
announced that they will deploy more troops ahead of the upcoming Afghan
elections. Germany says it will send another 600 soldiers, and Italy
pledged another 500.NATO'S secretary-general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer,
told ministers Thursday the alliance's intervention in Afghanistan is
not "where we had hoped to be by now." He urged a regional approach to
fight both terrorism and corruption.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.


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