|
Un votes to increase troops { October 14 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=9072371A-0B41-490D-9203-E1C229C96B7Bhttp://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=9072371A-0B41-490D-9203-E1C229C96B7B
UN votes to increase troops in Afghanistan
Canada could be asked to send more soldiers
Steven Edwards
CanWest News Service, with files from news services
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council last night authorized the deployment of peacekeeping troops throughout Afghanistan, a move that may lead to a call for Ottawa to commit Canadian forces beyond the Afghan capital of Kabul, where 1,900 Canadian troops are currently serving.
The authorization came in a unanimously approved resolution that had long been sought by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and UN authorities helping rebuild the country.
Currently, few countries say they are willing to make new commitments to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, which currently comprises 5,500 soldiers.
Any decision to expand the Canadian soldiers' duties would have to be made by John McCallum, the Defence Minister, and General Ray Henault, the Chief of Defence Staff, according to Captain Mark Gough, a spokesman for the Department of National Defence.
A Security Council diplomat familiar with troop contributions to Afghanistan said last night Canada had not offered to send any additional forces.
The first new troops in rural Afghanistan are expected to come from Germany, the Security Council member that initiated the resolution.
"We are very glad that this has taken place," said Gunter Pleuger, the German ambassador, who will lead a one-week Security Council mission to Afghanistan and Pakistan on Oct. 31 to assess the rebuilding process.
Mr. Pleuger said once approval was given in the German parliament, his government would send up to 450 more troops to make an "island" of ISAF forces to boost security in part of the north of the country.
"If this is successful, we hope that this could be considered as a pilot project that could perhaps be copied in other areas of Afghanistan," Mr. Pleuger said.
The United States was eager to see such a deployment, but Germany agreed only if its soldiers were a part of the NATO mission and not linked to the 12,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan that are trying to track down al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in the south.
To provide legal cover for the expansion of ISAF, Lord Robertson, NATO Secretary General, sent a letter to John Negroponte, the U.S. ambassador to the UN and the Security Council's president for October, seeking a new resolution.
The resolution also extends the mandate of the Kabul force for another year.
"This resolution helps pave the way for the increased security in Afghanistan upon which nearly everything else is dependent," Mr. Negroponte said.
NATO military planners last month proposed various options for expanding the peacekeeping mission, suggesting additional forces of between 2,000 and 10,000 would be needed.
The Council's 15 members approved the new resolution without debate. Though not a Council member, Canada cannot be ordered to send additional forces.
The vote comes as Taliban and al-Qaeda rebels have been launching increasingly bold assaults in recent months, raiding police stations, killing aid workers and confronting U.S. troops in growing numbers.
Many of the attacks have taken place in the south and east of the country, near the border with Pakistan. Afghan and Western officials have long complained that the insurgents have found a safe haven in Pakistan, crossing the border frequently to launch attacks.
sedwards@nationalpost.com
© Copyright 2003 National Post
|
|
