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Eurasianet Organization
Nov 13 2004
NATO CHIEF AFFIRMS EXPANSION OF SECURITY FORCE IN WESTERN AFGHANISTAN
Nikola Krastev 11/13/04
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said November 11 that
the current situation in Afghanistan makes it logistically viable
for the alliance to expand its operations there.
"We have lived up to our promises, and at the moment the signs are
good that NATO is going to expand ISAF -- the International Security
Assistance Force -- into the west of Afghanistan," de Hoop Scheffer
said. "We have covered the north now with a number of so-called
Provincial Reconstruction Teams. We will now go west, setting up
what we call a 'forward support base' in Herat, and then we want to
move counterclockwise to the south and the southeast of Afghanistan,
as well."
De Hoop Scheffer said that NATO's forces in the country have, in
general, been received well by the Afghan people. Asked why NATO,
originally created to provide security for Western Europe, is now
operating in Afghanistan, the secretary-general said the terrorist
attacks of 11 September 2001 brought about a major shift in NATO
policy.
"What is NATO doing in Afghanistan? Defending values at the Hindu
Kush in the present day international climate," Scheffer said. "We
have to fight terrorism wherever it emerges. If we don't do it at
the Hindu Kush, it will end up at our doorstep. In other words, this
perception gap in the long run must be closed and must be healed --
that is, for NATO's future, of the utmost importance."
Another priority for NATO in Afghanistan, he said, will be providing
additional security during parliamentary elections, scheduled for
April. The secretary-general said that extra NATO battalions will
be committed.
De Hoop Scheffer described NATO's operations in Afghanistan as a
"moderate success." But he warned that without deeper involvement
by the international community in the fight against drug production
and drug trafficking in Afghanistan, NATO's ability to ensure the
country's stability will be limited.
Referring to Afghanistan's neighbors, de Hoop Scheffer underlined
the strategic role the Central Asian states play in the fight against
terrorism. Having just returned from a trip to Central Asia and the
Caucasus, de Hoop Scheffer said he envisions closer cooperation with
these states.
"We need, by the way, Central Asian nations, and the Caucasian nations
[to] play an important role in supporting the ISAF operation because
we need the lines of communication -- to say in military terms --
[and] transit agreements with the Central Asians, to see that we can
adequately run the ISAF operation in Afghanistan," Scheffer said.
De Hoop Scheffer said Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia have all
expressed interest in closer cooperation with NATO in its Partnership
for Peace program.
"They all want to extend their partnership with NATO. Even Armenia has
now applied for the so-called Individual Partnership Action Program,
which means that we are going to develop a tailored, Armenia-tailored
partnership program with that country, with Yerevan," Scheffer
said. "That goes for the Central Asian nations, as well. So that
partnership is developing very well."
De Hoop Scheffer stressed that Turkey is playing a particularly active
role in the Partnership for Peace program.
Nov 13 2004
NATO CHIEF AFFIRMS EXPANSION OF SECURITY FORCE IN WESTERN AFGHANISTAN
Nikola Krastev 11/13/04
A EurasiaNet Partner Post from RFE/RL
NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said November 11 that
the current situation in Afghanistan makes it logistically viable
for the alliance to expand its operations there.
"We have lived up to our promises, and at the moment the signs are
good that NATO is going to expand ISAF -- the International Security
Assistance Force -- into the west of Afghanistan," de Hoop Scheffer
said. "We have covered the north now with a number of so-called
Provincial Reconstruction Teams. We will now go west, setting up
what we call a 'forward support base' in Herat, and then we want to
move counterclockwise to the south and the southeast of Afghanistan,
as well."
De Hoop Scheffer said that NATO's forces in the country have, in
general, been received well by the Afghan people. Asked why NATO,
originally created to provide security for Western Europe, is now
operating in Afghanistan, the secretary-general said the terrorist
attacks of 11 September 2001 brought about a major shift in NATO
policy.
"What is NATO doing in Afghanistan? Defending values at the Hindu
Kush in the present day international climate," Scheffer said. "We
have to fight terrorism wherever it emerges. If we don't do it at
the Hindu Kush, it will end up at our doorstep. In other words, this
perception gap in the long run must be closed and must be healed --
that is, for NATO's future, of the utmost importance."
Another priority for NATO in Afghanistan, he said, will be providing
additional security during parliamentary elections, scheduled for
April. The secretary-general said that extra NATO battalions will
be committed.
De Hoop Scheffer described NATO's operations in Afghanistan as a
"moderate success." But he warned that without deeper involvement
by the international community in the fight against drug production
and drug trafficking in Afghanistan, NATO's ability to ensure the
country's stability will be limited.
Referring to Afghanistan's neighbors, de Hoop Scheffer underlined
the strategic role the Central Asian states play in the fight against
terrorism. Having just returned from a trip to Central Asia and the
Caucasus, de Hoop Scheffer said he envisions closer cooperation with
these states.
"We need, by the way, Central Asian nations, and the Caucasian nations
[to] play an important role in supporting the ISAF operation because
we need the lines of communication -- to say in military terms --
[and] transit agreements with the Central Asians, to see that we can
adequately run the ISAF operation in Afghanistan," Scheffer said.
De Hoop Scheffer said Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia have all
expressed interest in closer cooperation with NATO in its Partnership
for Peace program.
"They all want to extend their partnership with NATO. Even Armenia has
now applied for the so-called Individual Partnership Action Program,
which means that we are going to develop a tailored, Armenia-tailored
partnership program with that country, with Yerevan," Scheffer
said. "That goes for the Central Asian nations, as well. So that
partnership is developing very well."
De Hoop Scheffer stressed that Turkey is playing a particularly active
role in the Partnership for Peace program.