NATO mission more than just security

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- A top NATO commander says the Taliban in Afghanistan can be made irrelevant with greater security and the creation of jobs and trust.

Army Gen. Bantz J. Craddock, NATO supreme allied commander in Europe and commander of U.S. European Command, says NATO is not only working on security in the region, but is pursuing a counterinsurgency strategy that includes an economic push in an effort to prevent locals from being persuaded to become guns-for-hire as a means of subsistence among other incentives, the American Forces Press Service reported.

"The whole key here is not kill the Taliban, but to make them irrelevant by providing options that have yet to become available," Craddock said in a statement. "Afghans sign up not because they're ideologues, but because they need money to put food on the table for their kids. When jobs occur, the angry young men do not join these insurgencies."

Craddock also said NATO forces are working to establish sustainable reconstruction and economic development.

"I'm convinced that the international community along with NATO can continue to deliver improvements to the quality of life of the Afghan people through a comprehensive approach," Craddock said. "I believe, personally, that the Afghan national security forces and NATO forces have the initiative."