NATO ministers agree on key strategies for Afghanistan

Welcoming in style © NATO

NATO defense ministers together with their counterparts from the non-NATO ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) contributing nations, agreed on a new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan that would focus on protecting civilians and boost the number of troops on the ground.

At the meeting in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, ministers agreed that training of the Afghan National Security Forces is crucial to a transition to Afghan lead and that the NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan (NTM-A) will need to be fully resourced in order to build the capacity necessary.

Chairing the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: “Getting consensus on these priorities will better focus our efforts and the efforts of our Afghan partners,” adding, “It was a very worthwhile discussion, and I am pleased that we now have an agreed understanding on how we are going to transition from a NATO security lead to an Afghan lead.”

Anders Fogh Rasmussen © NATO

Chairing the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: “Getting consensus on these priorities will better focus our efforts and the efforts of our Afghan partners,” adding, “It was a very worthwhile discussion, and I am pleased that we now have an agreed understanding on how we are going to transition from a NATO security lead to an Afghan lead.”

According to a NATO statement, four key NATO priorities for the coming period as adopted at the meeting are: “to place the Afghan population at the core of NATO-ISAF’s collective effort; an enhanced effort to build the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces; to work more closely and effectively with our international and Afghan partners to promote better governance, and to engage effectively with Afghanistan’s neighbors, particularly Pakistan.”

The strategy laid out by U.S. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, increased the pressure on Washington and Europe's capitals to finally send more troops to Afghanistan.

British minister Bob Ainsworth (L), Robert Gates © NATO

McChrystal's strategy outlined a troop surge without being specific on how significant that would be -- but different sources have estimated it to be anywhere between 30,000 and 80,000. NATO is expected to take a decision in the coming month as the matter is under consideration at the U.S. and NATO levels.

Britain has already promised to send an additional 500 troops, but elsewhere in Europe the mission is becoming increasingly unpopular. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for an exit strategy for Germany's 4,000 troops, and the Netherlands and Italy are debating whether to reduce their commitments or leave for good. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said Paris would not send a single additional soldier to Afghanistan on top of its 2,800 there.

But Rasmussen, in comments made on the eve of the meeting, said greater efforts now mean a timely exit later. "We need other international actors to redouble their efforts to help with reconstruction and development. We have to do more today if we want to be able to do less tomorrow."

The United States has about 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, and NATO nations have 36,000 more. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is fighting an increasingly uphill battle against the Taliban.