Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
International Herald Tribune
March 26, 2008 By Associated Press
PARIS--Even as it considers increasing the number of troops it has stationed in Afghanistan, the French government believes that military might is not enough to bring stability to the country, the defense minister said Tuesday.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has said as much in a letter to other leaders of NATO countries, insisting that any enhanced French role must be considered as part of a "global approach" in Afghanistan, Defense Minister Hervé Morin said in an interview.
Morin said the United States needed to treat Europeans like "adults" when it comes to defense by supporting an EU military alliance as a complement, not a competitor, to NATO. And he spoke of the challenges France faces in adapting its military to 21st-century threats.
But with a week to go before a NATO summit meeting in Romania, the interview at Morin's office in the 18th-century Hotel de Brienne here focused on Afghanistan - seen by many as a crucial test for the Atlantic alliance.
NATO has "overall military control" in the country, Morin said, even if Taliban fighters carry out sporadic attacks in some areas. But stabilizing Afghanistan requires building solid institutions, fighting the opium trade and working toward the "Afghanization" of authority, he said.
"Even if you have military control," he said, "it's not enough. There has to be an accompanying plan that allows the Afghans to progressively create the conditions of their own development - and thus their own autonomy - and to take their destiny in their hands."
Morin said France has not decided how it will bolster its contribution to the Afghan mission beyond the 1,500 troops it has there now. Most of those soldiers operate in the capital, Kabul, and its northern suburbs. The French decision is expected at the NATO summit meeting in Bucharest next week.
The decision by France, a nuclear-armed country that, with Britain, is among Western Europe's top military powers, would signal crucial support for NATO and could give political cover for other nations to chip in, too.
"We are examining hypotheses," Morin said. He declined to confirm reports in both Britain and France that said Paris would contribute about 1,000 more troops.
Separately Tuesday, the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said on Europe-1 radio that Sarkozy has been clear "that yes, we will increase the number of our soldiers" in Afghanistan.
Echoing Morin, Kouchner said it would require discussions among all nations with a presence in Afghanistan "to be with, and to help, the Afghan people."
More troops are needed in several parts of Afghanistan - in the south, a key hub of insurgent violence, and in the east, another hot area along the border with Pakistan.
But Morin appeared to suggest that Paris would not send troops to the south, saying, "We naturally have more of an interest" in remaining in or near areas where French forces are already deployed.
The challenge for NATO increased when Canada warned that it would pull its 2,500 troops out of Afghanistan if other allies did not offer more help. Canada wants 1,000 more troops for the alliance's anti-Taliban efforts.
NATO has been under strain from revived insurgent violence in Afghanistan. More than 8,000 people died in violence there last year, even as the NATO force there has grown to 43,000 troops.
While Paris is considering how to help out, Morin said France's top military priority abroad was not NATO but its ambitions for a European Union defense force. He repeated his government's insistence that EU defense would not come at the expense of NATO, but as a complement to it. The United States needs to encourage Europe to develop its own defense, he added.
"Often our American friends criticize Europe for not taking enough of the defense burden," he said. But "as long as Europeans aren't considered like adults" who are "responsible for their security, they won't make the effort."
Morin cited "real progress" toward building up a EU defense force by pointing to the deployment - despite repeated delays - of a 3,700-strong EU mission in Africa to protect refugees from Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
He said some contributing nations for that mission, such as Poland and Romania, also are devoted NATO members, proof of the growing acceptance that the two military structures can work side-by-side.
France is in the middle of a review of its military and security structure, which is expected to be made public next month. Morin said the report's conclusions will help determine whether its costly plan to develop an aircraft carrier with Britain will continue.
March 26, 2008 By Associated Press
PARIS--Even as it considers increasing the number of troops it has stationed in Afghanistan, the French government believes that military might is not enough to bring stability to the country, the defense minister said Tuesday.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has said as much in a letter to other leaders of NATO countries, insisting that any enhanced French role must be considered as part of a "global approach" in Afghanistan, Defense Minister Hervé Morin said in an interview.
Morin said the United States needed to treat Europeans like "adults" when it comes to defense by supporting an EU military alliance as a complement, not a competitor, to NATO. And he spoke of the challenges France faces in adapting its military to 21st-century threats.
But with a week to go before a NATO summit meeting in Romania, the interview at Morin's office in the 18th-century Hotel de Brienne here focused on Afghanistan - seen by many as a crucial test for the Atlantic alliance.
NATO has "overall military control" in the country, Morin said, even if Taliban fighters carry out sporadic attacks in some areas. But stabilizing Afghanistan requires building solid institutions, fighting the opium trade and working toward the "Afghanization" of authority, he said.
"Even if you have military control," he said, "it's not enough. There has to be an accompanying plan that allows the Afghans to progressively create the conditions of their own development - and thus their own autonomy - and to take their destiny in their hands."
Morin said France has not decided how it will bolster its contribution to the Afghan mission beyond the 1,500 troops it has there now. Most of those soldiers operate in the capital, Kabul, and its northern suburbs. The French decision is expected at the NATO summit meeting in Bucharest next week.
The decision by France, a nuclear-armed country that, with Britain, is among Western Europe's top military powers, would signal crucial support for NATO and could give political cover for other nations to chip in, too.
"We are examining hypotheses," Morin said. He declined to confirm reports in both Britain and France that said Paris would contribute about 1,000 more troops.
Separately Tuesday, the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said on Europe-1 radio that Sarkozy has been clear "that yes, we will increase the number of our soldiers" in Afghanistan.
Echoing Morin, Kouchner said it would require discussions among all nations with a presence in Afghanistan "to be with, and to help, the Afghan people."
More troops are needed in several parts of Afghanistan - in the south, a key hub of insurgent violence, and in the east, another hot area along the border with Pakistan.
But Morin appeared to suggest that Paris would not send troops to the south, saying, "We naturally have more of an interest" in remaining in or near areas where French forces are already deployed.
The challenge for NATO increased when Canada warned that it would pull its 2,500 troops out of Afghanistan if other allies did not offer more help. Canada wants 1,000 more troops for the alliance's anti-Taliban efforts.
NATO has been under strain from revived insurgent violence in Afghanistan. More than 8,000 people died in violence there last year, even as the NATO force there has grown to 43,000 troops.
While Paris is considering how to help out, Morin said France's top military priority abroad was not NATO but its ambitions for a European Union defense force. He repeated his government's insistence that EU defense would not come at the expense of NATO, but as a complement to it. The United States needs to encourage Europe to develop its own defense, he added.
"Often our American friends criticize Europe for not taking enough of the defense burden," he said. But "as long as Europeans aren't considered like adults" who are "responsible for their security, they won't make the effort."
Morin cited "real progress" toward building up a EU defense force by pointing to the deployment - despite repeated delays - of a 3,700-strong EU mission in Africa to protect refugees from Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
He said some contributing nations for that mission, such as Poland and Romania, also are devoted NATO members, proof of the growing acceptance that the two military structures can work side-by-side.
France is in the middle of a review of its military and security structure, which is expected to be made public next month. Morin said the report's conclusions will help determine whether its costly plan to develop an aircraft carrier with Britain will continue.