NATO Says Extra Troops Needed for Afghan Polls
By VOA News
18 March 2009
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said additional troops are needed to secure Afghanistan during upcoming presidential elections.
De Hoop Scheffer said he wants four more battalions in place for the August 20 vote. A NATO battalion is about 1,000 troops.
The NATO chief made the comments Wednesday after meeting Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.
Meanwhile, NATO member Poland is already preparing to send extra troops.
Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said Wednesday that he is submitting plans to the president to increase Warsaw's 1,600-strong force in Afghanistan. He did not say how many additional troops would be sent. But he suggested they would be on the ground by May.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski supports increasing Polish forces in Afghanistan and is expected to approve the request.
The worsening Taliban insurgency also has convinced U.S. President Barack Obama to deploy an extra 17,000 troops to Afghanistan in the coming months.
The presence of international troops and rising insecurity are expected be key issues in the country's presidential race.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
