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2,000 NATO Troops May Be Afghan-Bound 09/06 09:47
NATO may deploy 2,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan to join the
140,000-strong international force already there, an official said Monday.
BRUSSELS (AP) -- NATO may deploy 2,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan to join
the 140,000-strong international force already there, an official said Monday.
Top U.S. and NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus asked for the additional
troops, nearly half of whom will be trainers for the rapidly expanding Afghan
security forces, said the official who requested anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak on the subject.
Petraeus also asked for troops who know how to neutralize roadside bombs,
the cause of 60 percent of the 2,000 allied deaths in the nine-year war. They
have also accounted for 30 percent of all Afghan civilian deaths.
The request comes ahead of NATO's November summit, where the Afghan conflict
will be a major topic of discussion. The alliance has had trouble raising more
troops for the war effort, with at least 450 training slots still unfilled
after more than a year.
The additional trainers are considered the essential element in allied plans
to increase Afghanistan's army and police from the present 300,000 members to
400,000 by next year, when the drawdown of international troops is expected to
start.
It is not clear exactly where the new troops will come from since the war is
deeply unpopular in many of NATO's 28 member states. In Europe, polls show the
majority of voters consider it an unnecessary drain on finances at a time of
sharp cuts in public spending and other austerity measures.
The official said the new trainers were needed to staff new schools for
combat support and service support specialties to enable the transition of
responsibility to the Afghan forces.
NATO officials have said the additional instructors are difficult to come by
because none of the member states has large numbers of such specialists
available for assignment to Afghanistan.
Another NATO official, who also asked not to be named for the same reason,
said the renewed request for more trainers and explosives disposal experts was
part of a routine review of force requirements.
"There is an ongoing discussion on possible additional resources needed to
continue supporting the efforts under way," she said.
A number of instructors have been killed in a series of attacks by Afghans
against coalition partners, raising fears of Taliban infiltration as the U.S.
and its allies speed up the training of Afghan forces.
Several NATO members may start reducing their contingents in Afghanistan
after 2011. The Dutch have already withdrawn their contingent from southern
Afghanistan and the Canadians have said they would follow suit.
(KA)
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