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NATO recommits troops for Afghan polls
AFP - Thursday, March 19
KABUL (AFP) - - NATO's chief on Wednesday recommitted the alliance to providing thousands of extra troops to secure Afghan presidential elections on August 20 amid concern about the threat of Taliban attacks.
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The elections were pushed back from April with the NATO-led military alliance requesting several thousand troops for the polls, Afghanistan's second presidential vote and a crucial test in its quest for democracy.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told reporters that the alliance had requested four battalions of reinforcements from the 42 nations in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
He did not say how many men this would be, but ISAF said previously it asked for "thousands" of troops for the polls.
At a news conference at ISAF headquarters in Kabul, Scheffer said troop commitments for the polls were not yet finalised but he expected them to be announced soon.
Italy and Germany have already committed hundreds of troops and more pledges may be announced at a NATO summit due April 3-4.
Scheffer, at a briefing alongside Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, told reporters that the elections would be a challenge.
"But we are to meet this challenge because every Afghan citizen should have the right, wherever he is, to go to the polls," he said.
The threat of insurgent attacks against the elections is highest in southern Afghanistan, where several districts are in the hands of the radical Taliban, in government between 1996 and 2001 and now fighting to take back power.
"We will bring extra forces before, during and after the elections to make this possible, so I think it's viable," Scheffer said.
The alliance leads a force of nearly 62,000 troops propping up Karzai's fragile government.
Under the constitution the presidential elections should have been held 30-60 days before Karzai's term ends on May 22. The Independent Election Commission pushed them back, citing security fears and logistical problems.
Karzai has not announced, however, whether he will end his term in May, as set in the constitution. Some sections of the opposition have called for the appointment of a caretaker administration until the election.
The president refused to say at the briefing with Scheffer whether he would stand for re-election, saying he would make an announcement "very soon."
The NATO secretary general arrived in Afghanistan Monday at the head of a delegation of representatives from ISAF nations, on a tour to assess development in the war-scarred nation.
They arrived after a bloody weekend in which nine ISAF soldiers were killed.
"We have come to show our engagement and to show our long-term commitment," Scheffer said at the presidential palace.
International partners in Afghanistan "have not come here to gain a military victory," he said. Rather, they intend to help Afghan forces stabilise the country so its people could see real improvements.
Scheffer also stressed ISAF's commitment to avoiding civilian casualties in its military operations against insurgents.
Asked at the briefing about a push for reconciliation talks with Taliban insurgents, he said it was "up to the Afghan president and government."
He rejected a "sour doomsday scenario" about developments in Afghanistan.
"I'm a regular visitor since 2004 and I see progress," he said. "I do not see in any way the enemies of Afghanistan are on the brink of winning. No way."
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US soldiers serving with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) patrol a village outside Bagram airbase. NATO will provide thousands of extra troops to secure Afghan presidential elections on August 20 amid concern about the threat of Taliban attacks.
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