Gates calls out Europe on Afghan mission

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Gates calls out Europe on Afghan mission
By Robert Burns - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Oct 26, 2007 13:28:18 EDT

HEIDELBERG, Germany — Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday questioned the commitment of some NATO allies to winning in Afghanistan, saying the outcome there is at “real risk” because some European nations are unwilling to provide enough troops and resources to the mission.

“In Afghanistan, a handful of allies are paying the price and bearing the burdens,” he told a conference of army leaders from 38 European nations organized by the chief of U.S. Army Europe.

“The failure to meet commitments puts the Afghan mission — and with it, the credibility of NATO — at real risk,” he added in remarks that were notably critical of European governments that have been close political and economic partners of the U.S. for more than five decades.

He also said restrictions that some allies put on how and where their troops can operate in Afghanistan have unfairly burdened other coalition partners and “done real harm” to the overall war effort.

The U.S. has 26,000 troops in Afghanistan. The non-U.S. total is 23,000. For the past year, NATO has had overall command of the forces, other than 13,000 U.S. troops doing counterterrorism missions. In that period, violence led by the Taliban has increased, although Gates said NATO should take credit for blunting a spring offensive by the Taliban, especially in the south.

Gates spoke hours after leaving a two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, where U.S.-led efforts to provide sufficient troops for the Afghanistan mission was a central topic.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2007/10/ap_gates_071026/