NATO, Afghanistan to dominate last day of Munich conference

Sun, 07 Feb 2010

Munich - NATO's battle in Afghanistan and the alliance's attempts to make itself more modern were set to dominate talks on the last day of the annual Munich Security Conference Sunday. NATO is currently trying to implement a new, broad-based strategy in Afghanistan and is working on a new set of principles to guide its operations for the next decade, provoking sharp debate about what the alliance should do and how it should do it.

NATO members are desperate to train the Afghan security forces to defend their country and encourage Taliban-linked fighters to return to peaceful life, so that Western soldiers can come home.

In August, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) called for major reinforcements, but simultaneously demanded a new strategy which would put more effort into protecting the Afghan people and building up the country's army.

On January 28, the foreign ministers of some 60 nations, including the 44 ISAF members, agreed with Afghan President Hamid Karzai how to put that strategy into effect, promising more and better-coordinated aid in return for a pledge to crack down on corruption.

Karzai was set to address the Munich conference alongside speakers including the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, and Britain's defence minister, Bob Ainsworth.

NATO is also currently engaged in drawing up a new "strategic concept" for the next decade so that members can agree on what NATO is meant to do, how it should do it and what resources it will need.

The debate comes amidst tensions over NATO's overall purpose. Relatively new members such as the Baltic states hold that the main point of joining the alliance is to guarantee protection against a possible threat from Russia.

Those fears came into sharp focus after Russia's 2008 war with NATO hopeful - and Baltic ally - Georgia.

Western European states do not see Russia as a direct threat, and want NATO to have a broader and more international outlook.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen was set to open the debate on NATO's future on Sunday. Former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who heads the group tasked with drawing up the new NATO strategic concept, was also expected.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized NATO's military presence in Eastern Europe.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/307907,nato-afghanistan-to-dominate-last-day-of-munich-conference.html.