AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE,
NATO has agreed to expand its military operations into eastern Afghanistan, even as it struggles to find troops to hold off a dogged Taliban-led insurgency in the volatile south.
Thursday's agreement, reached by alliance ambassadors, would see some 10,000 US troops come under NATO control within Afghanistan's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) by the end of the year.
It would put ISAF in control of international operations across the country, boosting its numbers to more than 30,000 troops from some 37 nations.
“The formal decision to move to the fourth and final stage of deployment for the International Security Assistance Force (NATO-led ISAF) was taken without any particular problems,” a diplomat said.
Defence ministers of the 26 alliance nations were expected to formally announce the decision at their meeting Thursday in the Slovenian coastal town of Portoroz.
Opening the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said many NATO soldiers “have paid the ultimate sacrifice” and said “opposing forces must be dealt with in a conclusive way.”
“Afghanistan should never again become a launching pad for international terrorists. We must, and I'm sure we will, finish the job and ensure the success of our operation in Afghanistan,” he said.
No exact date was given for ISAF's expansion into the east but US officials said it was to take place quickly.
The move comes as the alliance struggles to fend off the surprisingly resistant uprising in southern Afghanistan and amid reluctance among NATO allies to provide reinforcements.
It could, if it happens quickly enough, provide the extra troops NATO's supreme commander, US General James Jones, has been seeking to seize more ground from the Taliban in the south before winter sets in.
ISAF has been on a mission since 2003 to spread the influence of President Hamid Karzai's weak central government to outlying regions by providing security and fostering reconstruction.
It first moved into the north and west of the country, setting up civilian-military reconstruction teams to try to improve infrastructure and the economy while providing security.
Stage three saw NATO take command in July, mainly through British, Dutch and Canadian troops, of international operations in the Taliban's southern heartland.
The final phase — stage four — essentially involves transferring command of US troops in the Operation Enduring Freedom coalition to ISAF and could be completed very quickly.
Ahead of the Slovenia talks, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expressed confidence that the allies would step forward with troops and equipment.
Poland was expected to confirm that it will accelerate the deployment of its contingent and supply most of the combat troops needed in the south.
But a senior US official played down expectations that the defence ministers would meet all the targets.
“I think we'll probably have more holes but we are hopeful the meeting will provide energy and focus to keep going with that,” said the official, who would speak only on condition of anonymity.
“Some of the things that have been difficult — air mobility, helicopters — if you look around allied inventories, people are very, very stretched with other missions around the world,” the official said.
The Taliban, ousted by the US-led military coalition in late 2001 for harbouring Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, has been backed by allies among drug runners and fighters loyal to local warlords.
More than 100 foreign soldiers have been killed in hostile action in Afghanistan this year, about half of them US troops, and Iraq-style suicide bombings have been on the rise.
Some 2,000 people, civilians, military and insurgents, have been killed.
In London, British Defence Minister Des Browne appealed for a boost in support, saying: “Allies must step up to the plate to meet our collective commitment to support the government and people of Afghanistan.”
As it seeks to reclaim Taliban-infested territory, ISAF also hopes to win hearts and minds by helping build new roads, bridges and schools, as well as provide jobs.
But development is lagging and analysts warn that NATO's most ambitious security enterprise faces failure if Afghans lose interest in democracy and turn once again to the fundamentalist militia.
