Biden: More Aid Needed for Afghanistan

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Biden: More Aid Needed for Afghanistan
Associated Press | February 26, 2008

NEW YORK - Sen. Joseph Biden is calling for more U.S. aid for Afghanistan and deeper NATO involvement there, saying failure could also have dire consequences for neighboring Pakistan.

NATO must be "fully in the fight" in Afghanistan - nothing less than the future of the alliance is at stake, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee told a luncheon crowd Feb. 25 at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"Many of our NATO allies thought they were signing up for a peacekeeping mission, not counter-insurgency operations," said Biden, D-Del. "Many are fighting with incredible bravery in the south. But the so-called "national caveats" are making a mockery of NATO - and the notion of a unified mission."

Each nation that contributes troops operates under so-called national caveats that limit what its troops can do.

Nearly seven years after a U.S.-led invasion defeated the Taliban regime, NATO has about 42,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, 14,000 of whom are American.


Rest of article at: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,162832,00.html