Opinion | Editorials
Two-tier Nato: Willing and unwilling
Defence ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) meet today in Lithuania on the second and final day of a round of informal talks addressing issues of mutual concern.
- Gulf News
- Published: 01:04 February 8, 2008
Defence ministers of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) meet today in Lithuania on the second and final day of a round of informal talks addressing issues of mutual concern. There will be discord as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates is expected to again chastise those Nato members which are not fully committed to the cause in Afghanistan. Both he and Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer have called upon less active Nato participants to increase their presence in Afghanistan.
The comments are particularly levelled at Germany, which has consistently refused to send any more troops to the country, and especially to the south, where much of the worst fighting goes on. The German government has been given permission by its parliament to send a token presence to Afghanistan and accordingly sent just over 3,000 troops to the north, mainly to assist in the restructuring and development of the region.
Nato contributes its forces as part of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) of some 43,250 troops assisting the Afghan government in extending its authority across the country. However, what is very apparent is that the fighting has unified the Al Qaida and Taliban sections, toughening their resolve to wage war against the mainly Western troops stationed there.
Gates claims that unless more Nato members increase their military presence in Afghanistan, the organisation is in danger of splitting in two, with a "coalition of the willing" to fight and a "coalition of the less willing". While his assessment may be a panic call because the US is not getting its way, it is true that Canada, one of the willing, has said if Germany does not send more troops, it will withdraw from Afghanistan next year. Such a move will certainly put great pressure upon Nato.
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