COPENHAGEN — While generally welcoming the promised surge of American troops to Afghanistan, Europe is likely to present President Barack Obama with a mixed bag of responses to his request that allies step up their own deployments.
Some European leaders say their countries are stretched to the limit militarily and that growing public opposition to the war severely restricts their options.
In France, headlines trumpeted President Nicolas Sarkozy’s “flat refusal” to a reported request for another 1,500 soldiers.
Germany remains ambivalent about sending more forces because of souring opinion over the war and criticism over a recent German-ordered NATO airstrike that killed more than 100 insurgents and civilians. But least eight countries are willing to strengthen their deployments, among them Britain, Italy, Spain and Poland, media reports say.
After Obama’s speech Monday, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said, “This is not a U.S. mission alone. There are 43 countries on the ground under NATO command and I am confident that other allies and partners will also make a substantial increase in their contributions.”
The response from France was more measured.
“I think we must take a few weeks to reflect — first off . . . to consult with our other European partners, and then . . . to decide what our form of participation would be,” said Thierry Mariani, France’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
