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Monday, October 6, 2003

NATO agrees to expand Afghan mission beyond Kabul

Agence France-Presse
Brussels, October 6

NATO agreed on Monday to extend an Alliance-led peacekeeping force in
Afghanistan beyond the capital Kabul, to help clamp down on a recent rise in
violence blamed on a resurgent Taliban.

The decision, which has to be approved by the UN, would see German forces
taking the lead in extending the UN-mandated International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), which NATO has commanded since August.

NATO chief George Robertson will contact Secretary General Kofi Annan to
confirm the Alliance's willingness to broaden the mandate of the
5,300-strong force.

The agreement was two-fold: accord for Germany to lead a "Provincial
Reconstruction Team" (PRT) in the northern town of Kunduz, and a decision
"to expand the ISAF mission beyond Kabul," an official said.

ISAF was deployed in Kabul in December 2001, just weeks after the defeat of
the Taliban regime.

Twenty months on, Afghanistan's provinces are troubled by in-fighting
between rival warlords and an intensified insurgency by fighters loyal to
the Taliban and Al-Qaeda groups.

One of the scenarios under consideration at NATO is to send between 2,000
and 10,000 troops to other Afghan cities and to multiply the number of PRTs
already active in several regions.

The issue is taking on greater urgency as the Afghan authorities prepare to
begin the potentially fraught task of disarming 100,000 militiamen across
the country.

In a report last week, the Brussels-based International Crisis Group
think-tank said the disarmament programme would only succeed with the
involvement of neutral peacekeepers.

The ICG said that Afghanistan's embryonic army and police force were not
ready to take charge of security across the country to support the
disarmament drive, which is due to be launched on October 25.

"The UN Security Council should, therefore, authorise NATO... to move out to
the main provincial centres and assist (disarmament) implementation," it
said.

Securing the backing of the United Nations to extend ISAF's mandate is not
the only challenge confronting NATO.

Getting the tools to do the job is probably a bigger headache for the
military alliance.

NATO member states are already stretched by peacekeeping commitments in the
Balkans, not to mention the heavy involvement of US, British and Polish
troops in Iraq.

© Hindustan Times Ltd. 2003.
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