[A-List] Afghanistan: make way for NATO!

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Nato poised to take role in Kabul
By Judy Dempsey in Brussels
Financial Times: November 11 2002

Nato is poised to start playing its first official role in Afghanistan after
Germany and the Netherlands asked the US-led military alliance to provide
assistance when they jointly take over the lead of the international forces
in Kabul early next year.

The request coincides with final preparations for next week's Prague summit
where the alliance will expand from 19 to 26 and where the issue of Iraq and
possible US-led military attacks against Baghdad will play a prominent role
on what is an already packed agenda.

Nato diplomats said that if the 19 members of the alliance agreed to the
German/Dutch request, it would give Nato its first formal role in the fight
against terrorism and in helping to stabilise Afghanistan.

Nato offered assistance to Washington when it launched its military strikes
against the Taliban just over a year ago. The US, however, sought instead
the help of individual countries and not from the alliance as a whole,
fearing it would become bogged down in bureaucratic procedures.

"In retrospect, Nato as an alliance was marginalised. It did little for its
morale," said a US diplomat. "That may now change in the coming weeks."
France, however, has in the past opposed Nato or even a Nato-backed United
Nations force playing any role in Afghanistan.

In a joint letter recently sent by Germany and the Netherlands to Lord
Robertson, Nato secretary-general, they asked that Nato provide planning,
communications and logistics backing to the Isaf (International Security
Assistance Force) troops. These troops are made up of at least a dozen
countries and are currently led by Turkey.

Peter Struck, German defence minister, who visited Nato and Washington last
week, said Berlin would be providing more than 1,300 troops. They would be
based in Kabul although some Nato and European Union diplomats said it was
essential that Isaf's mandate be extended to the provinces.

A senior Nato official said no country would be prepared to take the lead of
Isaf outside Kabul unless it had full backing from Nato and full access to
Nato assets, particularly planning and strategic airlift.

"If we went outside Kabul, then we would need many, many more troops," said
a Nato diplomat.

If Isaf's mandate were changed, Nato diplomats said they saw some
possibility where the alliance could itself take the lead. They said it
would make it easier to mobilise troops rather than rely on one or two
countries to volunteer every six months to take over the command of Isaf.