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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (502595)	12/2/2003 11:32:40 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

NATO discusses taking the lead in Afghanistan From staff and wire reports BRUSSELS — NATO on Monday considered an eventual takeover of the U.S.-led hunt for Taliban militia and al-Qaeda operatives in Afghanistan, where it now commands a peacekeeping force of 5,700 troops. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the United States was open to a possible merger of Operation Enduring Freedom with NATO's International Security Assistance Force. The United States has about 10,000 troops in Afghanistan to assist in reconstruction and hunt remnants of the former ruling Taliban militia and al-Qaeda network fighters. "It is entirely possible at some point that could happen, but I don't want to put a time frame on it," said Rumsfeld, who addressed a news conference with NATO Secretary-General George Robertson after a meeting of the 19-nation alliance's defense ministers. "We've not yet got to the detail of discussing how it might be carried out," Robertson said about a single command in Afghanistan. A more urgent issue for the NATO ministers on Monday was dealing with equipment gaps in the existing Kabul-based force, which has just three helicopters. The alliance's plans to expand the peacekeeping force beyond Kabul have been hampered by the lack of such equipment. Robertson said that without real commitment from NATO members, "Afghanistan and its problems will appear on all of our doorsteps." He was referring to a renewed offensive by supporters of the former Taliban regime and the resurgent opium trade that is controlled by Afghan warlords. Robertson said some nations had come forward to fill equipment and intelligence officer gaps in Kabul. NATO has asked for 11 helicopters: five larger utility and three light utility helicopters, plus three attack helicopters. Although the NATO allies have more than 7,000 helicopters, most belong to the United States and Britain. Both countries were deemed to have made their contribution. The remaining 17 nations have hundreds of helicopters, perhaps more than 1,000. Poland, Spain and Turkey have offered intelligence officers, and three countries pledged forces for NATO to take command of security at Kabul International Airport. NATO also has agreed to take control of six Provincial Reconstruction Teams, groups of soldiers who carry out small development projects or provide security for aid workers. But military planners say that to do this, NATO would have to deploy up to 3,000 additional soldiers. The alliance also would have to set up a forward operating base, perhaps in Kyrgyzstan or Tajikistan, to provide these teams with protection. "If this proves a success ... NATO might take over military operations in Afghanistan sometime in the future, although that remains to be seen," Rumsfeld said. He said such an action was "some distance out." Also, in a sign of progress toward transforming NATO from an organization geared toward Cold War-era conflicts to one able to defend member countries from 21st-century threats, Robertson announced the formation of a multinational battalion based in the Czech Republic. The battalion, made up of about 500 soldiers from 13 NATO countries, could respond to a military crisis involving the use of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons. The battalion will be presented officially Wednesday at its Czech headquarters. "This is a new and innovative capability aiming to deal with a threat that exists and a threat that we have to cope with," Robertson said.