Cheney pressures NATO for commitments

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 20 (UPI) -- In a surprise visit to Afghanistan, Vice President Dick Cheney and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met Thursday to discuss the security situation in the country.

With more than 8,000 people killed in 2007 -- according to U.N. estimates -- as a result of the growing Taliban insurgency, Cheney put pressure on NATO allies to increase efforts to secure Afghanistan.

The evolving threats from al-Qaida and the Taliban resulted in the recent announcement that an additional 3,200 U.S. Marines will be deployed to support coalition operations in Afghanistan.

"The United States and the other members of the coalition need to have a sufficient force here to be able to ensure security, to deal with a threat that's been represented by continuing activities by the radicals and extremists, and the likes of the Taliban and al-Qaida," Cheney said in a statement after meeting Karzai.

U.S. defense officials have criticized countries like Germany and France for not increasing their troop presence in combat zones. The United States has by far the most troops on the ground in Afghanistan and is hoping that at a NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, on April 2, international partners will increase their commitments.

"I would expect that we'll see a reaffirmation and a resumption, if you will, or renewal of the commitment that we've made collectively as an Alliance to the independence and freedom of the people of Afghanistan," Cheney said. "I'm quite confident that in fact NATO will continue to play a major role and hopefully even expand their efforts."