NATO Chiefs To Declare Afghan Plan on Track

[Lex]

NATO Chiefs To Declare Afghan Plan on Track

By MARK JOHN, REUTERS, BRUSSELS, Belgium jun 6 2006

NATO defense ministers who meet in Brussels on June 8 will declare the alliance's plans to nearly double peacekeeping troops in Afghanistan on track despite mounting violence there, officials said.
The 26-nation body expects to raise troop levels to some 17,000 from 9,000 and move into the perilous south by late-July, giving Washington the scope to cut its forces in the existing U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) operation there.
"It comes as no great surprise that NATO forces will be challenged in the south. We are creating the conditions for stability there and a number of people don't want that," NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning John Colston told a news briefing on June 6.
"Defense ministers are confident they have the right plan, the right forces properly equipped and the right rules of engagement to undertake the job," he said, adding there were no plans to review existing military planning for the expansion.
Recent months have marked the bloodiest period in an insurgency that has been raging since U.S.-backed forces ousted a Taliban government in 2001.
Some 400 people were killed last month alone, as the Taliban stepped up attacks in the south in an apparent attempt to weaken the resolve of NATO governments.
Three U.S. soldiers were wounded on June 6 in an attack by a teenage suicide bomber on their convoy in southeast Afghanistan. Also on June 6 a roadside bomb killed two soldiers in the U.S.-led coalition in eastern Afghanistan, according to a U.S. military spokeswoman.
STRONG PRESENCE
Britain, Canada and the Netherlands are due to lead the deployment to the south, which includes Afghanistan's main opium-growing region and most dangerous territories.
The expansion will allow the United States to withdraw some of the estimated 3,000 U.S. troops in the south. But the U.S envoy to Afghanistan insisted it will keep a strong presence, with around 20,000 of a total 33,000-35,000 foreign troops.
"We will be the largest and we will remain involved in the south in a variety of combat support levels," Ronald E. Neumann told journalists in Kabul on June 5.
Separately, a senior NATO diplomat said the United States had proposed taking over the command of ISAF next February after the current British-led command finishes.
NATO is already present in the capital Kabul, the west and north of the country and expects to extend its coverage to the east by the end of the year, putting it in charge of all peacekeeping operations.
However diplomats said there was still no agreement on when exactly that could happen, with many allies wanting to see how the expanded mission in the south went.
Defense ministers will also review NATO efforts to reform itself from Cold War giant to a nimbler security organization able to respond to crises in troublespots at short notice.
European allies will be pressed to set aside more troops for a flagship NATO rapid-reaction force due to be fully operational from October this year with a total force strength of 25,000.
The United States in recent weeks pledged to reserve almost 6,000 troops for the so-called NATO Response Force but diplomats said its headcount was still short.

Beknopte vertaling:

De ministers van Defensie van NATO, die bijeenkomen op 8 juni in Brussel zullen verklaren dat de plannen van de alliantie om de troepenmacht bijna te verdubbelen op koers liggen, ondanks de toename van het geweld.
De 26 lidstaten verwachten dat het aantal troepen zal toenemen van 9000 naar 17000 pax en dat  zij het crisisgebied zullen betreden eind juli; dit geeft Washington de optie haar troepen aldaar te reduceren.
"Het komt niet als een verrassing dat NATO troepen uitgedaagd zullen worden in het zuiden. Wij creëren stabiliteit en een aantal mensen willen dat niet, aldus J, Colston.
"De ministers van Defensie zijn ervan overtuigd dat zij het goede plan hebben, de juiste troepen die adequaat zijn uitgerust en de correcte ROE's om de taak uit te voeren."
GB, Canada en NL zullen de uitzending in het zuiden leiden, hetgeen de regio omvat met de grootste opium teelt en de regio met de meest gevaarlijke gebieden.