Agence France-Presse,
BRUSSELS: Tensions between NATO allies, notably with the United States, and doubts about the powers of a new UN envoy are a sign of growing pressure as the alliance struggles in Afghanistan, experts say.
A new peak was reached last week, when US Defense Secretary Robert Gates hit out at allied operations against Taliban fighters in south Afghanistan, which led to the Netherlands summoning the US ambassador for an explanation.
“The bitter criticism by Gates of the way that close US allies like Britain are conducting anti-insurgency operations is the sign of growing anger with the Europeans in Washington,” said Joseph Herontin at the RMES network of strategic studies in Brussels.
While Gates later embarked on a fence mending exercise by praising those in the south — like Britain, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands — some of his criticism was due, the Belgian expert said.
“Without sufficient numbers on the ground, the Dutch troops, for example, tend to use their artillery and this causes deaths among the civilian population,” he said.
However, Herontin said, “in terms of counter-insurgency, British, Dutch and Canadian forces are not so bad, and the Americans aren't as good as Mr Gates suggests.”
Elsewhere, Germany's former chief of defence staff Klaus Naumann made an extraordinary outburst last week, accusing Berlin of a lack of solidarity.
He was critical of its refusal to deploy German soldiers from the north to more dangerous areas near the mountainous southern border with Pakistan.
“The time has come for Germany to think whether it wants to be a reliable alliance partner,” he said.”The obligation doesn't stop in certain geographical regions.”
Wherever the troops may be based, overall numbers remain a concern for commanders on the ground.
They are demanding an additional 7,500 troops, even though the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) keeps growing — from around 33,000 in January 2007 to some 42,000 in December.
On Tuesday, the United States said it would send 3,200 marines, with about two-thirds to be deployed to the south for seven months, in time for yet another anticipated Taliban-led offensive in the spring.
The fighting has left around 6,000 people dead, including some 220 international soldiers trying to help spread the rule of President Hamid Karzai's government to outlying areas, as well as foster reconstruction.
But no matter how much firepower they have, according to Ronald Asmus, expert at the German Marshall Fund, success will not be achieved until there is good governance and the Afghan army can handle security.
He said that ISAF commanders “know that even if they do everything right militarily, we can lose this war.”
Indeed most experts agree that the biggest problem lies outside the military sphere and is due to the lack of a serious plan and vision for what is NATO's most ambitious mission ever and its links to civilian efforts.
“The most glaring challenge is the lack of a coordinated strategy both at the military level and in the area of post-conflict reconstruction,” said Julianne Smith at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
To address that in part, the United Nations is due to appoint soon British diplomat Paddy Ashdown — an energetic former envoy to Bosnia and once a marine — in a new more powerful civilian position.
But it is unclear if he will be able to coordinate the strands of international and Afghan efforts.
“Unless the coordinator presides over a pooled international budget for Afghanistan, including security sector reform, development aid and counter narcotics, he will just become another agency that needs to be coordinated,” said Barnett Rubin, a pre-eminent Afghan expert at New York University.
The tensions, due to this glaring need for a comprehensive strategy, are set to cast a cloud over the upcoming summit of NATO leaders, in Bucharest from April 2 to 4.
