Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
June 14, 2008 By Thom Shanker
BRUSSELS — A two-day session of NATO defense ministers ended Friday after following a now-familiar script in the debate over Afghanistan: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates made a heartfelt plea for allies to fulfill pledges for troops. Allies promised modest additions.
And when it was over, the NATO secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, pronounced the hours of debate over the alliance-led stabilization mission as “encouraging but not entirely satisfactory.”
The Italians lifted previous restrictions on the movement of their forces assigned to Afghanistan, and 15 allies agreed to pool resources to give NATO three more C-17 heavy transport planes, which will assist the Afghan mission, alliance officials said.
But Mr. Gates complained that many of the same troop shortfalls that existed 18 months ago still exist today, which prompted the defense secretary to depart from prepared remarks to a gathering of the ministers.
“I told them that my expectations are simple,” Mr. Gates said. “I expect government decisions and actions to match government rhetoric.”
Mr. Gates said he told his counterparts that, for the first time last month, there were more coalition troops killed in fighting in Afghanistan than in Iraq. Pentagon officials said that in May, 16 coalition troops were killed in Iraq, 14 of them American, and that 18 coalition troops were killed in Afghanistan, 13 of them American.
NATO currently has almost 53,000 troops in Afghanistan, but important troop shortages remain. In particular, commanders want three additional combat battalions as well as more trainers for Afghan security forces.
During an interview with Pentagon reporters at NATO headquarters, Vice Adm. William D. Sullivan, the senior American military representative to the alliance, said the continuing ability of Taliban and other insurgents to cross from safe havens in Pakistan to mount attacks in Afghanistan was an indication that additional troops were required.
Another battalion could go a long way toward sealing the Afghan border with Pakistan to halt insurgents from sneaking across, he said.
“More forces are needed to do that,” said Admiral Sullivan, who is the representative of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to the alliance. “We, the United States, have been leading the way in trying to encourage the other members of the alliance to contribute more forces to the effort so we can begin to cover these areas where we simply don’t have enough forces to cover now.”
During their session here, alliance defense ministers also discussed the future architecture of a NATO system to defend against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, although no decisions were made.
June 14, 2008 By Thom Shanker
BRUSSELS — A two-day session of NATO defense ministers ended Friday after following a now-familiar script in the debate over Afghanistan: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates made a heartfelt plea for allies to fulfill pledges for troops. Allies promised modest additions.
And when it was over, the NATO secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, pronounced the hours of debate over the alliance-led stabilization mission as “encouraging but not entirely satisfactory.”
The Italians lifted previous restrictions on the movement of their forces assigned to Afghanistan, and 15 allies agreed to pool resources to give NATO three more C-17 heavy transport planes, which will assist the Afghan mission, alliance officials said.
But Mr. Gates complained that many of the same troop shortfalls that existed 18 months ago still exist today, which prompted the defense secretary to depart from prepared remarks to a gathering of the ministers.
“I told them that my expectations are simple,” Mr. Gates said. “I expect government decisions and actions to match government rhetoric.”
Mr. Gates said he told his counterparts that, for the first time last month, there were more coalition troops killed in fighting in Afghanistan than in Iraq. Pentagon officials said that in May, 16 coalition troops were killed in Iraq, 14 of them American, and that 18 coalition troops were killed in Afghanistan, 13 of them American.
NATO currently has almost 53,000 troops in Afghanistan, but important troop shortages remain. In particular, commanders want three additional combat battalions as well as more trainers for Afghan security forces.
During an interview with Pentagon reporters at NATO headquarters, Vice Adm. William D. Sullivan, the senior American military representative to the alliance, said the continuing ability of Taliban and other insurgents to cross from safe havens in Pakistan to mount attacks in Afghanistan was an indication that additional troops were required.
Another battalion could go a long way toward sealing the Afghan border with Pakistan to halt insurgents from sneaking across, he said.
“More forces are needed to do that,” said Admiral Sullivan, who is the representative of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs to the alliance. “We, the United States, have been leading the way in trying to encourage the other members of the alliance to contribute more forces to the effort so we can begin to cover these areas where we simply don’t have enough forces to cover now.”
During their session here, alliance defense ministers also discussed the future architecture of a NATO system to defend against short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, although no decisions were made.