NATO clinched an agreement Wednesday to bolster its troubled mission in Afghanistan by sending more troops and cutting restrictions on forces already there, while admitting that gaps remain. Leaders of the 26-nation bloc, including US President George W. Bush, also backed a French proposal to set up a "contact group" to coordinate action to prevent Afghanistan slipping back toward chaos. Closer to its traditional home ground, the leaders also agreed to admit Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina to its Partnership for Peace program, a decade after the wars that ripped the Balkans apart. The pledge on Afghanistan, announced at the end of a two-day summit in Riga, came after the United States and Britain in particular lobbied for more troops and fewer caveats on the forces in the violence-wracked country. European heavyweight states like Germany, France, Spain and Italy came under pressure to do more in southern Afghanistan, where British-led troops have faced a growing death toll in fighting against Taliban insurgents. Chancellor Angela Merkel after the summit stressed that Germany's contribution to the Afghanistan mission was highly valued by its NATO partners. She had also once more assured alliance members that Germany would come to NATO's aid in emergencies beyond the locations where the Bundeswehr is deployed. She added that solidarity demanded it and that it was clear "Germany wouldn't close its eyes to this solidarity." As an example, she suggested evacuating wounded soldiers from other NATO states.
Leaders of the 26-nation bloc, including US President George W. Bush, also backed a French proposal to set up a "contact group" to coordinate action to prevent Afghanistan slipping back toward chaos.
Closer to its traditional home ground, the leaders also agreed to admit Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina to its Partnership for Peace program, a decade after the wars that ripped the Balkans apart.
The pledge on Afghanistan, announced at the end of a two-day summit in Riga, came after the United States and Britain in particular lobbied for more troops and fewer caveats on the forces in the violence-wracked country. European heavyweight states like Germany, France, Spain and Italy came under pressure to do more in southern Afghanistan, where British-led troops have faced a growing death toll in fighting against Taliban insurgents.
Chancellor Angela Merkel after the summit stressed that Germany's contribution to the Afghanistan mission was highly valued by its NATO partners. She had also once more assured alliance members that Germany would come to NATO's aid in emergencies beyond the locations where the Bundeswehr is deployed.
She added that solidarity demanded it and that it was clear "Germany wouldn't close its eyes to this solidarity."
As an example, she suggested evacuating wounded soldiers from other NATO states.
Clearly the West turned out to be modern day Mordor, the Shadow in the West, with Dark Lord Bush in distant Washington and his puppets as Saruman Blair. Reincarnations of Evil.
Tragically, this is one of the best summaries of recent foreign policy I've read all year.
