NATO chief: more European troops in Afghanistan

[February 07, 2009]  MUNICH (AP) -- NATO's secretary-general on Saturday blasted Europe's reluctance to respond to American calls for more troops in Afghanistan, saying countries like Germany and France need to "share the heavy lifting."

Germany's chancellor endorsed the principle of greater military support for the U.S. in NATO operations but did not commit to additional deployment in Afghanistan. France's president did not mention the issue at all during at a meeting of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, a staunch supporter of U.S. calls for more European troops in Afghanistan, referred to a joint call this week from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy to strengthen Europe's role in NATO. He said it was a good idea but would not come without cost.

"I'm frankly concerned when I hear the United States is planning a major commitment for Afghanistan but other allies are already ruling out doing more," he told a gathering of world leaders and top ministers at the Munich Security Conference. "That is not good for the political balance ... and it also makes the calls for Europe's' voice to be heard in Washington perhaps a bit more hollow than they should be."

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden was to address the conference later Saturday.'

Biden, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and deeply versed in U.S. policy abroad, is expected to push allies at the conference for a greater share of the diplomatic, military and economic burdens confronting the new administration of President Barack Obama in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Germany has argued that its military is already too far stretched to commit more troops beyond the 4,500 now in the relatively calm north of Afghanistan. Instead, it has said the focus should be on future civil reconstruction, in conjunction with military security.

The French parliament voted in September to keep 3,300 French troops in the Afghan theater, but has no current plans to increase the French contingent.

Sarkozy argued for a Europe more ready to defend itself instead of relying on others, without touching on the Afghan troops issue.

"Does Europe want peace, or does Europe want to be left in peace?" he asked. "If you want peace, then you need to have the requisite means to survive ... you need to have political and military power."

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While supporting the general concept of more European military backing of the U.S. through NATO, Merkel also did not address U.S. calls for additional European deployments.

"We think that international conflicts can no longer be shouldered by one country alone," she declared. "No country can go it alone, so the cooperative approach needs to be guiding us."

De Hoop Scheffer said that if Europe wants a greater voice, it needs to do more.

"The Obama administration has already done a lot of what Europeans have asked for including announcing the closure of Guantanamo and a serious focus on climate change," he said. "Europe should also listen; when the United States asks for a serious partner, it does not just want advice, it wants and deserves someone to share the heavy lifting."

De Hoop Scheffer added that the same principle applies to Russian requests to be involved in Washington's plans to place a missile defense system in Eastern Europe.

He said Russia cannot talk of a new "security architecture" yet build its own new bases in Georgia and support Kyrgyzstan's plans to close the Manas air base, used by the U.S. to resupply troops in Afghanistan.

Kyrgyzstan's president announced the closure of the base on a visit to Moscow on Tuesday, just hours after securing more than $2 billion in loans and aid from Russia. U.S. officials said it acted as a result of pressure from Moscow, but Russia and Kyrgyzstan denied that.

The U.S. plans interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar station in the Czech Republic. Washington has said the system is aimed at preventing missile attacks by "rogue states" such as Iran, but Russian officials claim the true intention is to undermine Russia's defenses.

On Iran, which is already under U.N. Security Council sanctions, Merkel said the West was ready to push for harsher penalties to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear arms.

"It is a must to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons," she said, alluding to international concerns that Tehran's civilian program could be used to declare such arms. The Islamic Republic asserts its intentions are purely peaceful.

[Associated Press; By DAVID RISING and GEORGE JAHN]

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