http://ap.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5izjEyryNP1jzu9PJSFRQurNvE05wD8TH3EI80
Chief Says NATO No Global Police Force By ERIC TALMADGE - 10 hours ago TOKYO (AP) - There are signs of improvement in Afghanistan, but NATO will not pull its troops out of the country anytime soon, the organization's leader said Friday. However, he denied NATO is looking to become an international police group. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said that while the situation remains complex in Afghanistan, improvements are being made. "I assure you that reconstruction and development is going on," de Hoop Scheffer said at a news conference. "Let's not see the picture totally blur by the Taliban making roadside bombs." He added, however, that a withdrawal from Afghanistan in the near future was out of the question. "Afghanistan is not a commitment that you enter into for two or three years," he said. "Developing that nation will take a generation, or generations." De Hoop Scheffer noted that NATO's role is growing and changing from its initial mission of deterring the threat of attack in Europe by the Soviet Union. But he said NATO is not looking to become an international police force. "Ten years ago it would have been unthinkable to see NATO in the Hindu Kush," he said. "NATO was called in and NATO answered the call. And I think quite rightly so." The Hindu Kush mountains divide Afghanistan and Pakistan. He said NATO is aware of its limitations. "Let's not take on everything, because then NATO would eat more than it can consume," he said. NATO, which took command of the war in Afghanistan 18 months ago, has about 41,000 troops in the country. Britain is the largest non-U.S. contributor, with about 7,800 troops. The U.S - which has 26,000 troops of its own in Afghanistan, around 12,000 of whom are part of the American-led counterterrorism coalition - is pushing NATO to increase its efforts and has warned that recent violence could jeopardize gains already made. This year has been the deadliest in Afghanistan since the invasion, with more than 6,200 people killed in insurgency-related violence. De Hoop Scheffer was in Tokyo to meet with senior Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. Although Japan does not have any troops on the ground in Afghanistan, it is a major financial donor and until recently supported the coalition with its navy ships in the Indian Ocean. That mission is currently under review, and has been criticized by Japan's opposition as violating the country's pacifist constitution. De Hoop Scheffer said he was well aware of the legal restraints Japan faces, and said Japan has to make its own decisions about how to support the coalition. (This version CORRECTS the number of NATO troops in Afghanistan to around 41,000.) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
