In an earlier topic regarding NATO’s policy over Afghanistan, I had mentioned the growing rift between the member states over the Afghan issue. Many European countries like Germany, Italy, Spain, etc, are facing enormous domestic opposition to troops surge in the war-ravaged South Asian country. The North Atlantic military alliance is still in a limbo over who should contribute more in Afghanistan militarily.
Afghanistan is at the top of the agenda as NATO defence ministers meet in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in a summit aimed at reaching some sort of compromise regarding the burning issue of European troop contribution. The relationship between the United States and some of its European allies is on an edge after US defence secretary Robert Gates provided a stern warning to Germany about Berlin’s lack of commitment to the improvement of the Afghan security in the south. Canada’s threat of pulling out of troops from the volatile south Afghanistan, if there are no extra reinforcements from European allies over the next twelve months, has made Washington concerned about Kabul’s future under the pro-western leader Hamid Karzai.
Robert Gates’ remarks in Washington highlighted the rift between America and other European allies within the NATO. The tough-talking US defence secretary was quoted as saying:
My view is you can’t have some allies whose sons and daughters die in combat and other allies who are shielded from that kind of a sacrifice.
But sometimes toughness could backfire your intentions. Berlin has openly rebuked the defence secretary’s criticisms and has dismissed troop contributions in the south.
The NATO secretary general Jaap De Hoop Scheffer considers NATO to be still united but has urged the member states, particularly the US, to make military requests behind closed doors rather than publicly. But one thing is for sure, NATO is on the verge of losing credibility over the Afghan controversy if the allies fail to come to an amicable conclusion in Lithuania. What has divided the allies is the fact that some members believe that there is too much military intention in the fight against the Taliban and diplomacy has been provided little chance to calm the situation. NATO troops present in Afghanistan have admitted the tough fight the Taliban provides each and every day and there is no chance the radical Islamist group could be defeated in the near future.
Victoria Nuland, the US ambassador to NATO, feels that the alliance is facing the biggest challenge in its 59-year history. According to the ambassador:
The alliance that never fired a shot in the Cold War is learning on the job. Just as the Iraq war forced adaptation in American military and development tactics and strategy, the Afghanistan mission is forcing changes in NATO. With each passing month, Canadians, Germans, Poles, Spaniards, Latvians and our other allies learn more about what it takes to wage a 21-st century counter-insurgency,a combined civil-military effort that puts warriors side by side with development workers, diplomats and police trainers.
May be the Vilnius summit can make the allies solve their differences and work together for the stability of Afghanistan.
Source Link: Guardian
Image Link: Daily Mail
