NATO chief: Allies to send 5,000 troops to Kabul, it’s ‘not just America’s war’
It’s time for the rest of the world to ante up and send some significant troops into Afghanistan if they are in agreement that Afghanistan needs help to stabilize the country. The token number of troops being sent by other countries is just plain bullshit. If Afghanistan is the world’s problem, then the solution needs to be equally shared and NATO’s 5,000 troops to our 30,000 troops is not equitable.
BRUSSELS (AP) — European and other U.S. allies will contribute more than 5,000 new troops to the international force in Afghanistan, NATO’s chief said Wednesday, declaring that the war is not America’s alone.
Still, aside from Poland, the pledges came in small numbers from small nations. European powers like France and Germany praised President Barack Obama’s speech on his new strategy for Afghanistan but were silent on the offer of new troops.
Reacting to Obama’s call for more help, a Polish official said the government will likely send 600 combat-ready reinforcements, mainly for patrolling and training, to beef up its existing 2,000-strong contingent.
Albania pledged to increase its 250-member unit by 85 troops, army trainers and medical workers, Prime Minister Sali Berisha said.
Spain’s El Pais daily said the defense ministry was considering adding 200 soldiers to its 1,000 contingent. Italy declared it would do its part and Finland confirmed that it had been asked to consider sending more troops and would do so next week.
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I heard Obama asked for 10,000 Nato troops. Wonder if he proscribes to the aske for more than you want and you’ll get what you need line of thought. Mc Crystal asked for 40,000 and got 30,000
Sage Reply:
December 2nd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I don’t know, but I think it’s chickenshit for other countries not to ante up more troops if they support the Afghanistan action.
December 3rd, 2009 at 10:41 am
NATO doesn’t believe in the military mission as set forth by Obama, nor do they trust him. Britain has been a huge NATO partner in the past, and have committed to supporting American military actions because they trusted us and we had a common purpose. Not so now, and also for most of the countries in NATO who used to be our allies. We should get out of Afghanistan and Iraq now and not spill any more American blood or waste our national treasure on these adventures until Obama can make up his mind so our allies have a clear understanding of what we are doing. There will be nothing accomplished by the 30,000 troops when they pull out in 2011, which is a convenient date because the presidential primaries will be in full swing. This move is typical Obama… put the troops in to appease the conservatives and upset the left and then pull them out right before the political season to appease the left and upset the conservatives.
Sage Reply:
December 3rd, 2009 at 12:03 pm
How about providing a link to something that backs up your assertion. I’ve not seen or heard anything to suggest NATO doesn’t trust Obama or support his mission.
Red Faction Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 12:10 am
@Sage,at the conference referenced, Obama has to make a strong case to get the allies on board. You can Google Obama and Nato and see all of the sniping going on.
By David Stringer, AP
http://blog.taragana.com/politics/2009/11/25/britain-nato-nations-are-ready-to-offer-5000-more-troops-for-afghanistan-conflict-2292/
“Nobody should expect that the day after President Obama makes his announcement that there will be a total troop figure added up … by the other allies,” Appathurai said.
“A number of countries … are looking to that conference,” he said. “They want to see any further contributions in the context of the overall political environment in which they will be deploying their forces.”
Committing additional troops for Afghanistan will be a tough sell for many allied governments at a time of economic crisis and shrinking defense budgets. Polls show that most Europeans oppose sending more soldiers into what many see as an unwinnable conflict.
Sage Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 12:47 am
@Red Faction, Nothing there indicates a distrust of Obama.
At your link:
Brown wrote to NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to confirm that many of 10 other nations consulted by British officials in recent weeks have pledged to send reinforcements.
That doesn’t sound like distrust or lack of support either.
“European and other U.S. allies will contribute more than 5,000 new troops to the international force in Afghanistan, NATO’s chief said Wednesday, declaring that the war is not America’s alone.”
That doesn’t sound like distrust or lack of support for the mission.
timesr Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 12:17 am
@Sage,
What I’ve read seems to indicate just the opposite.
Sage Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 12:47 am
@timesr, The opposite of what RedFaction said or I said?
AliSilver Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 7:28 am
@Sage, Maybe the truth is more like ” there is a general distrust of the US right now by most allies and the rest of the world”………… Just guessing…
timesr Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 10:55 am
@AliSilver, “Maybe the truth is more like ” there is a general distrust of the US right now by most allies and the rest of the world”………… Just guessing…”
After we elected Bush twice, who could blame them for not trusting us.
timesr Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 10:14 am
@Sage,
Oops, sorry. The opposite of RedFaction.
Sage Reply:
December 4th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
thanks for the clarification. I just wasn’t sure and I’ve read a number of articles and find nothing to insinuate a distrust of Obama.
December 3rd, 2009 at 9:57 pm
I saw a map showing where all the other countries were ’stationed’ in afghan and it was far northeastern, which is far from where any battles are going. Some of the countries had orders to not go where there was any fire of any kind. They were more of support services , medical and supply ,etc. So basically, ( don’t know if these are the same countries listed above) for them to say they are sending more troops is looking like they are supporting, but it is a long way from ‘having our troops back’. But if they are doing something productive while there, and that frees up ours to do other things I guess it’s ok.
December 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Perhaps it would be best to see what NATO’s role is in Afghanistan. They are not there as a traditional unit and according to their site, there are 70,000 NATO forces there. Their presence has increased dramatically in the last 2 yrs according to Canadian Broadcast tonight.
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_8189.htm