NATO ministers back new Afghan strategy

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- NATO defense ministers at a meeting in Slovakia voiced their support for a new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan that would focus on protecting civilians and boost the number of troops on the ground.

The strategy laid out by U.S. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top NATO commander in Afghanistan, calls for hunting down Taliban and al-Qaida fighters while at the same making sure population centers are protected. It also includes a commitment to accelerate the training of Afghan armed forces and police to increase the domestic manpower available for the counterinsurgency campaign. Observers say the new strategy won't work without a significant boost to NATO's military and civilian personnel on the ground.

McChrystal presented that strategy to NATO defense ministers Friday at their meeting in Bratislava, Slovakia, and they seemed to agree with the general's assessment.

"I have noted a broad support from all ministers of this overall counterinsurgency approach," NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was quoted by The New York Times as saying.

That only increases the pressure on Washington and Europe's capitals to finally send more troops to Afghanistan.

McChrystal's strategy includes a troop surge without being specific on how significant that would be -- but media reports have estimated it to be anywhere between 30,000 and 80,000. NATO won't decide until next month on such a surge, the request for which is currently being discussed by U.S. and NATO chains of command, the Times reports.

Britain has already promised to send an additional 500 troops, but elsewhere in Europe the mission is becoming increasingly unpopular.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for an exit strategy for Germany's 4,000 troops, and the Netherlands and Italy are debating whether to reduce their commitments or leave for good. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said Paris would not send a single additional soldier to Afghanistan on top of its 2,800 there.

But Rasmussen, in comments made on the eve of the meeting, said greater efforts now mean a timely exit later.

"We need other international actors to redouble their efforts to help with reconstruction and development. We have to do more today if we want to be able to do less tomorrow."

The United States has about 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, and NATO nations have 36,000 more. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force is fighting an increasingly uphill battle against the Taliban.