NATO seeks additional forces for Afghanistan

BRUSSELS, Belgium — America's NATO allies have more than 2.5 million men and women in uniform, but the alliance formed six decades ago to confront Soviet might is struggling to muster 2,500 more soldiers to repel Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan.

Overstretched militaries, tight budgets, the shaky cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and the difficulty selling the Afghan conflict to the public are holding European governments back from answering NATO's plea.

The reluctance to heed the call of NATO's top commander, U.S. Gen. James L. Jones, for extra troops has raised fresh concerns about the credibility of an alliance that has struggled to restore unity in the three years since the U.S. invasion of Iraq opened deep divisions.

"We need NATO to be pulling its weight," British Foreign Office Minister Kim Howells told the House of Commons in London. "They need to put more resources in there."

Transforming itself

The scramble for troops has underscored NATO's difficulties in transforming itself from an alliance designed to defend against Soviet armor into a force able to deploy around the world in response to terrorism, failed states or regional conflicts — which not every member perceives as a direct threat.

In Spain, for instance, the government doesn't see the war in Afghanistan as central to its security, said Michael Williams of London's Royal United Services Institute.

NATO has about 20,000 forces in Afghanistan, with almost half deployed in the southern provinces that are the heartland of the Taliban and Afghanistan's powerful opium gangs. Last week, Jones called for extra troops to support the British, Canadian, Dutch and American soldiers fighting in that region.

Jones acknowledged the ferocity of Taliban resistance caught NATO by surprise. But he said the insurgents' decision to dig in and fight a conventional battle rather than use hit-and-run tactics gave NATO an opportunity to strike a potentially decisive blow — before the militants seek refuge in the hills with the first snows.

Poland did step forward Thursday with an offer of about 1,000 extra troops, but not until February — too late to help Jones' goal of hitting the Taliban before winter. NATO officials say discussions are continuing in hopes that the Poles will deploy earlier.

It could come down to money. Under NATO rules, nations have to pay their own costs when deploying on NATO missions — a big burden for a former east bloc nation.

Meanwhile, in Washington, Democratic Sen. John Kerry accused the Bush administration of pursuing a "cut and run" strategy in Afghanistan that has emboldened terrorists and made the U.S. less safe.

"The administration's Afghanistan policy defines cut and run," Kerry said in remarks at Howard University on Thursday. "Cut and run while the Taliban-led insurgency is running amok across entire regions of the country. Cut and run while Osama bin Laden and his henchmen hide and plot in a lawless no-man's land."

Kerry's "cut and run" accusation echoes criticism Republicans have leveled at Democrats who have challenged Bush's handling of the Iraq war.

Kerry, his party's 2004 presidential nominee, lashed out at the administration on the same day the White House announced meetings later this month with the leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Kerry critical

Kerry wants at least 5,000 additional troops sent to Afghanistan, contending that the Bush administration has focused on Iraq while failing to respond forcefully to threats in Afghanistan and Iran.

"The central front in the war on terror is still in Afghanistan, but this administration treats it like a sideshow," said Kerry, adding there are seven times more troops in Iraq than Afghanistan.

"When did denying al-Qaida a terrorist stronghold in Afghanistan stop being an urgent American priority?" Kerry said. "How is it possible that we keep sending thousands of additional U.S. troops into the middle of a civil war in Iraq but we can't find any more troops to send to Afghanistan?"

The Republican National Committee dismissed Kerry's criticism.

"John Kerry lacks the credibility on the war on terror to be taken seriously," said spokesman Danny Diaz of the four-term senator, a longtime member of the Foreign Relations Committee. "The junior senator from Massachusetts would be well-served by not using his own agenda's mantra to falsely attack this administration's foreign policy."