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US urges allies to match Afghan 'rhetoric' with troop action
Brussels (AFP) June 13, 2008 The United States urged its allies Friday to live up to past pledges of troops and equipment to Afghanistan, as the NATO-led security force there struggles to cope with a Taliban and Al-Qaeda insurgency. "I expect government decisions and actions to match government rhetoric," US Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters after talks with allied defence ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "Many of the same shortfalls that existed 18 months ago still exist today," he said, despite vows at a summit in Bucharest in April to raise more troop contributions. Gates said he dropped his scripted speech for the meeting to "speak from the heart" about the military needs to his fellow ministers. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) now comprises almost 53,000 troops from 40 nations, up from 33,000 troops 18 months ago, but commanders continue to press for more help. In Bucharest, France agreed to send 700 additional troops, which will deploy later this year in an area near Kabul in eastern Afghanistan, freeing up around 1,000 US soldiers to move into the volatile south. Some 3,500 US marines have also been deployed but they will leave by November. US General Dan McNeill, the former commander of ISAF, which is trying to spread the influence of the weak central government across the country and foster reconstruction, has said that 10,000 troops are needed. Gates welcomed a pledge by Italy to lift restrictions on the movement of its 2,350 soldiers, most stationed in western Afghanistan, but it remained unclear whether Rome would be willing to move them to a more hostile area. "The Italians took a big step by announcing that they are lifting the mobility caveat on their forces," he said. "I hope that this will set an example for others." Britain's defence minister Des Browne said: "That would be very welcome and opens up a potential for the south and east but we will have to wait until they announce what they're going to do." NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that trainers for the growing Afghan army were sorely needed, but he also urged President Hamid Karzai to do more to tackle corruption. "It is important that in Afghanistan that the other side of the medal which is the fight against corruption ... is also taken very seriously," he said, at the end of the two-day meeting. "We are creating conditions for the development of a secure and stable environment, but that secure and stable environment needs the rule of law and needs the fight against corruption, it needs the fight against narcotics." His call echoed those of world donors, who pledged 20 billion dollars Thursday to rebuild Afghanistan but asked Karzai to better battle corruption and strengthen the rule of law. Related Links News From Across The Stans
Outside View: Summit fails Afghan victims
Kabul, Afghanistan (UPI) Jun 13, 2008 Forty minutes north of Kabul, in Paghman, there's a small bridge stretching 10 meters across a quiet stream. The bridge is one of thousands of small projects donor countries have carried out in Afghanistan. |
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