NATO vows to press ahead with expansion in Afghanistan
(AFP)
Updated: 2006-02-10 09:26

NATO said it was determined to press ahead with a risky expansion into volatile southern Afghanistan and that it had drawn lessons from the deadly riots in the conflict-scarred country.

At least 11 people have been killed and five Norwegian soldiers with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) injured in riots ignited by the publication in European newspapers of cartoons satirizing the Prophet Mohammed.

"There is full commitment to take forward ISAF expansion into the southern provinces this summer," NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said after talks with alliance defence ministers.

"That commitment will not waiver."

But the wave of violence has created new complications for the 10,000-member NATO-led force as it prepares to extend its operations into southern Afghanistan, a restive former Taliban stronghold.

A Taliban commander on Thursday offered a bounty of gold for anyone who kills a Danish, German or Norwegian soldier.

Denmark, where the cartoons were first published and which has been the focus of much Muslim anger, and Norway were among the most determined to stay the course.

"The slightest hesitation of ISAF to deploy its troops to the south will mean victory for the Taliban," said Danish Defence Minister Soren Gad, according to the notes of a NATO official at the talks.

The ministers, holding two days of informal talks in Taormina, Italy, lauded ISAF for showing calm under pressure, with particular praise going to the provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in northern city of Maymana on Tuesday.

"The ministers applauded the extreme professionalism and restraint by Norwegian and Finnish troops" operating the PRT, de Hoop Scheffer said, but he conceded that the violence had forced a security review.

"It is an argument for NATO to look at our force posture and our force protection, not only that PRT but also elsewhere as well."

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld brushed off questions about the impact of the cartoon affair on efforts to stabilize Afghanistan as he flew in from Washington to this seaside resort in Sicily.

Nor would he be drawn on how it might harm the broader effort to win over Muslims in the struggle against Islamic extremists.

"I don't know," he told reporters traveling with him.

ISAF's move south, aimed at extending the reach of Afghanistan's weak central government, was top item on the agenda of the meeting, which was held under a blanket of security that included warships, helicopters, dogs and explosives teams.

The expansion was supposed to have begun in the spring, but has gotten off to a slow start because of a protracted debate in The Netherlands over whether Dutch peacekeepers should be sent into a potential combat situation.

The Dutch parliament finally gave the green light last week for the deployment of up to 1,400 Dutch troops as part of the expanded force, but the debate underscored European concerns about the changing nature of the mission.

Australia, Britain and Canada also are contributing troops for the expanded mission which will take ISAF from about 10,000 troops to about 18,000. Denmark and Norway are also expected to deploy a small contingent.

The United States commands a separate force of about 18,000 troops, which will shrink in size by about 4,000 troops.

Rumsfeld told reporters NATO was still planning to follow up the move into south later this year or next by expanding into eastern Afghanistan, the border area with Pakistan where resistance to the US-backed government in Kabul is fiercest.

The cartoon controversy is certain to surface again Friday when the ministers meet with their counterparts from seven Mediterranean rim countries, including Muslim and Arab nations plus Israel.