Military

DATE=12/14/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=EUROPE / AFGHAN (L-Only)

NUMBER=2-284304

BYLINE=TOM RIVERS

DATELINE=LONDON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: Military officials from at least 10 countries have met in London today/Friday to discuss the size, scope and timeframe involved in deployment of an international stabilization force for Afghanistan. Tom Rivers reports that Britain is likely to take a lead role in this peacekeeping effort.

TEXT: Not all of the logistical details are known at this time, nor has a United Nations mandate been authorized yet, but the gathering Friday at the Ministry of Defense in London focused on contributions and support that various nations are willing to commit to in a coordinated effort in Afghanistan.

Senior military representatives from France, Germany, Spain and Italy, attended, as well as Turkish and Jordanian officials, whose countries may form the core of a longer-term presence in the war-torn country. The United States was also represented.

Chaired by Lieutenant-General Tony Piggott, the British deputy chief of defense staff, the discussions centered on the size and composition of the deployment.

A small British reconnaissance team will fly to Kabul in the next few days to assess the problems that will face the international force.

Specifics on the number of troops involved will not be announced until this team reports back on its findings, and after the U-N Security Council passes a resolution giving the international force a mandate.

The man who will be the defense minister in Afghanistan's interim government, Mohammed Fahim, has said he does not want to see this incoming stabilization force be any larger than one-thousand, but British defense sources believe that three-to-six-thousand would be more appropriate.

Discussions with Afghan leaders will continue to determine a force level acceptable to all concerned.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has repeatedly said that the world cannot walk away from Afghanistan once the fighting is over. Winning the peace, he has maintained is vitally important to get the nation - torn by over two decades of civil war - back on its feet.

The new interim government takes power on December 22nd, and military observers here believe advance troops from the stabilization force could be in Kabul by then. (Signed)

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