NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Friday the allies will prevail in their bid to stabilize Afghanistan but only if they answer President Barack Obama”s call for more allied troops on the ground.
The year 2010 will bring “a new momentum” to the Afghanistan mission, Fogh Rasmussen told NATO foreign ministers, two days after Obama agreed to send 30,000 more American troops to the country and asked other NATO members to also add military muscle.
NATO officials said pledges from other nations have exceeded 5,000 troops. More than 20 nations are expected to make firm commitments at a force-generation conference on Monday or following the international conference on Afghanistan in January, he said.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters on arrival at the NATO meeting that all alliance members must “ask themselves whether they are doing the maximum possible … to ensure success in Afghanistan.”
“We know the stakes are very high indeed. So this is the time for all of the international community to make sure it steps up to support the efforts of governance in Afghanistan and Pakistan to ensure stability in that crucial part of the world,” he added.
