BRUSSELS — NATO allies will bolster the American troop surge in Afghanistan by sending at least 7,000 soldiers of their own, officials said Friday in pledges that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton described as crucial to turning the tide in the stalemated war.
The promised increase came as U.S. Marines and Afghan troops launched the first offensive since President Barack Obama announced a 30,000-American-troop increase. The Marines and Afghan forces struck Taliban communications and supply lines Friday in an insurgent stronghold in southern Afghanistan.
Clinton told allied foreign ministers it was essential that contributions to the war effort be provided as quickly as possible. She thanked Italy for its announcement that it will send an additional 1,000 troops and Britain for its pledge of another 500, but she said nonmilitary assistance is equally important.
“The need for additional forces is urgent, but their presence will not be indefinite,” she told the North Atlantic Council, NATO’s highest political group.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark told reporters at the organization’s headquarters that still further NATO forces might be in the offing, suggesting there would be “more to come.”
Also, Adm. James Stavridis, the top NATO and U.S. commander in Europe, said in an Associated Press interview that he expects several thousand more non-U.S. troops might be added to the 7,000.
“What we are all underlining to potential troop contributors is that we are truly asking for emphasis in the training area,” Stavridis said.
The transformation of Afghanistan’s army and police is critical to fulfill Obama’s intention to begin pulling out American units 18 months from now.
According to a copy of Clinton’s prepared remarks to the closed-door NATO meeting, she told the ministers that “the pace, size and scope of the drawdown will be predicated on the situation on the ground.”
“If things are going well, a larger number of forces could be removed from more areas,” she said. “If not, the size and speed of the drawdown will be adjusted accordingly.”
