[A-List] Japan To Send Ground Troops To Afghanistan, Seeks NATO Aid

[Rick Rozoff <r_rozoff@xxxxxxxxx>]

1) Japan Seeks NATO Assistance To Disarm Former Afghan
Soldiers
2) Japan To Send Troops To Afghanistan


1)
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=297450


Japan Today
May 6, 2004

Japan wants NATO help in Afghanistan project

BRUSSELS ? Japan on Wednesday sought cooperation from
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in a project to
disarm former Afghan soldiers and return them to
civilian life. Japan is participating in the project
to disarm about 10,000 former Afghan soldiers but so
far 6,200 of them have been disarmed.

Japan decided to seek NATO's cooperation because it
commands the International Security Assistance Force
in Afghanistan that is planning to expand its control
over rural areas. Japan is the biggest contributor to
the disarmament project, funding the majority of cost
or about $3.5 million. (Kyodo News)
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2)
http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en63642&F_catID=23&f_type=source&day=1


Hi Pakistan
May 5, 2004

Japan will send ground troops to Afghanistan

TOKYO: Japan is considering sending ground troops on a
non-combat, humanitarian mission to Afghanistan where
a US-led force continues operations to stamp out
extremist militants, a report said Wednesday.

Tokyo wants to contribute to the reconstruction of
war-torn Afghanistan ahead of the war-torn country's
general elections scheduled for September, the major
daily Yomiuri Shimbun said. "To support President
(Hamid) Karzai who is trying to promote the democracy
in Afghanistan, further assistance for the nation's
recovery is needed," a government source was quoted by
the newspaper as saying.

Senior Japanese foreign and defence officials have
been unofficially requested by the US government to
dispatch Japanese ground troops, the report said.










	
		
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