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Georgian Times December 7, 2009 Georgia in Afghanistan: Paving The Way To NATO Membership By Lizaveta Zhahanina With 1,000 soldiers ready to be sent to Afghanistan Georgia is becoming the second largest contributor to the mission’s new boost, behind only the U.K. Georgia is on a par with Italy in the number of new soldiers committed, reportedly making the “U.S. surge more respectable.” On Tuesday December 1 U.S. President Barack Obama announced a new strategy for Afghanistan, which increases the U.S. and NATO troop commitment in the country and pledges to withdraw U.S. forces by July 2011. Obama said that 30,000 additional U.S. troops are scheduled to be deployed during the next 6 months. American combat soldiers and trainers will work on strengthening the Afghan army and police, areas considered key to a successful U.S. and NATO strategy. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen warmly welcomed Obama's new commitment to the mission in Afghanistan in a statement released by the NATO press office on Wednesday, December 2. Calling the overall approach “a broader political strategy for success,” Rasmussen said that the U.S. mission was not alone. “As the U.S. increases its commitment, I am confident that the other Allies, as well as our Partners in the mission, will also make a substantial increase in their contribution,” Rasmussen said in the statement. Currently 42 nations, the United States aside, contribute to the 42,000-strong NATO mission in Afghanistan. The United States, the 43rd country, has an additional 68,000 troops on the ground. The NATO Secretary General confirmed at a press conference on the same day that NATO Allies and their Partners would increase their contributions to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Afghanistan mission, saying that “in 2010, the non-U.S. members of this mission will send at least 5,000 more soldiers and probably more.” Over the next two days Rasmussen’s promised numbers grew. On Friday December 4, the Foreign Ministers of ISAF troop-contributing nations adopted a declaration outlining a new approach for Afghanistan, in which "at least" 25 Allies and Partners committed 7,000 new forces for 2010 with the possibility of more contributions to come. “Nations are backing up their words with deeds,” said Rasmussen at a press conference that day. However, the Secretary General did not list the 25 nations which had promised additional troops. While many European NATO allies seem reluctant to provide additional troops for the ISAF mission, newer ones support the new strategy more willingly. As reported by The Times on Saturday, December 5, “the grand total of reinforcements to the 30,000-strong U.S. surge was made more respectable by 1,000 troops from Georgia and 500 from South Korea.” Georgia already has a company of soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan under French command and plans to boost its commitment next year by sending a battalion under U.S. command. Speaking at a press conference in Brussels during the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was quoted as saying: “I’m not sure, but I think it is accurate to say that Georgia may be the largest per capita contributor to the NATO ISAF mission. We very much stand with the people of Georgia, and we’re very grateful for Georgia’s contributions to this important mission in Afghanistan.” The greatest contributions from NATO allies were pledged by the U.K., Italy, and Poland. Reportedly the U.K. promised to provide an additional 1,200 troops (500 new ones and 700 already there, sent to help with the election in that country) to its existing contingent of 9,000. After the United States, Britain is the largest contributor to the mission. In an interview published on Thursday December 3 Italy's Defence Minister, Ignazio La Russa, confirmed that Rome plans to send about 1,000 extra soldiers. The next most substantial offer came from Poland. It promised 600 soldiers in addition to about 2,000 already on the ground. Albania pledged 85 soldiers to boost its 235-strong presence and Macedonia also promised to deploy an additional 80 troops. Any additional contribution from the Czech Republic, which has been suggested, would have to be approved by its Parliament, but Germany and France are among the prominent NATO members which have refused to commit additional troops prior to the Afghanistan summit in London. This is scheduled for January 28, 2010. Although Georgia's contribution is only exceeded by the UK's and is the same as Italy's, the U.K. and Italy are NATO members, Georgia is only a partner country. In a statement made at the reopening of the military base at Vaziani on Saturday, December 5, President Saakashvili said that Georgia’s participation in Afghanistan directly impacted upon the country’s security. “While our allies, in this case the United States and Europe, are focusing on other issues [Afghanistan and Iraq], our enemy is getting active. The sooner the Afghan situation is resolved and the sooner the war is over in Iraq, the more Georgia will be protected,” Saakashvili said. He also said that unlike some other military contingents in Afghanistan, the Georgian forces have no restrictions with respect to combat engagement. Georgian analysts agree that the country’s commitment to the Afghanistan mission signifies its desire to be accepted in the Euro-Atlantic community. Georgia does not satisfy all the democratic standards required for NATO membership and has two parts of its territory occupied by foreign forces. Thus “Georgia’s intention is to somehow cancel out these problems by making a contribution to the NATO operation,” said Nika Chitadze, President of the International Security Research Centre. “Georgia’s main purpose is to become integrated in these [Euro Atlantic] structures and show its readiness to contribute to stability [in Afghanistan] and always be together with NATO,” he added. Georgia’s commitment to the United States also plays a role in the country’s willingness to help in Afghanistan. “The United States is the key to Georgian security today,” said Andro Barnovi, Director of the Institute for Strategy and Development, “and Georgia wants to show that it is not only a passive consumer but is also ready to contribute whatever it can.” =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: rwroz...@yahoo.com or stopnato-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Daily digest option available. ==============================
