NATO tries to allay Afghan security fears

BRUSSELS—NATO allies are in intensive talks to allay security concerns among nations key to a plan to expand peacekeeping in Afghanistan amid growing violence there, alliance sources said on Friday. The Netherlands, one of three nations earmarked to lead the expansion into the more dangerous southern region in the first half of next year, has raised questions over whether NATO will have sufficient forces to handle serious trouble, they said.
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is due on Monday to meet New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who insists it will not transfer to NATO a 120-strong reconstruction team in Bamiyan province unless the alliance guarantees robust support. “The Dutch want reassurance. If things go wrong, they want to be sure that there are others out there who can help them,” said one NATO source who requested anonymity. “The Dutch are in daily contact with allies and we shall see how this goes,” said a NATO official. “The secretary-general is fully aware of the discussion taking place in the Netherlands”.
A spokesman said Dutch Defense Minister Henk Kamp was still weighing up security and other considerations. A decision to deploy 1,100 Dutch troops to southern Afghanistan would require parliamentary approval, he added. The NATO-led ISAF mission currently has some 9,000 troops in the capital Kabul and the relatively calm north and west. The move to the south will take troop numbers up to 15,000 and will allow the U.S.-led coalition to cut the size of its force there. Britain, Canada and the Netherlands have expressed a desire to share the lead in the expansion. Aside from New Zealand, there are also talks with non-NATO nations including Australia.
Recent weeks have seen a rise in violence, including attacks aimed at ISAF troops and evidence that Taliban insurgents are resorting to suicide bomb attacks in their campaign to drive foreign troops out of the country. NATO officials are relatively content with an initial call for nations to contribute more troops and materiel to the ISAF force but acknowledge they still face shortages in helicopters and other key equipment.
Clark is expected to stress to de Hoop Scheffer next week that NATO must provide to New Zealand’s reconstruction team the same level of air support and other back-up that it currently gets from the U.S.-led coalition. “The details will have to be worked out with New Zealand ... There will be air assets to provide close air support and other support,” said a NATO official. “NATO has no intention of sending troops anywhere with one arm tied behind their back,” he added of a revamped operational plan for the ISAF mission which allows soldiers more leeway in dealing with attacks.—Agencies