Leading up to Obama's announcement of a troop surge in Afghanistan, unofficial heads up were delivered to different heads of state from NATO countries and other allies. However even after the commitment of more than 30,000 U.S. troops large scale manpower has yet to be promised by NATO states.
The majority of of forces in Afghanistan are still American. The Allies states have about 40,000 military personnel deployed to the U.S.'s 100,000: member states in the ISAF include: the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Poland and most members of the European Union and NATO also including Australia, New Zealand, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Singapore. The English speaking countries, the U.S., U.K., and Canada have sustained the most casualties.
The attending press in build up to Obama's speech at West Point military academy failed to convince the Allies to contribute more manpower. Though contributions did spike they failed to add more support: Poland with 600, Spain is talking 200, Georgia 900, with the French sending none so far (one wonders why not use the Foreign Legion?) These numbers are far below what Obama's administration was hoping.
The German foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, indicated that he is taking his time since "Obama took his time to work out the speech and his strategy and we will take our own time to assess what he said and discuss this with our allies". German forces current patrol two northern provinces of Afghanistan.
Germany's position is a public acknowledgment of the EU and NATO states attitudes: a senior European foreign policy official stated that most nations are considering sending trainers and police type personnel rather than committing ground forces to the war. Decisions are set to be made at a conference in London at the end of December.
Obama in Tuesday's speech claimed the U.S. had no perpetual plans in Afghanistan and the latest troop surge is a means of getting the job done of changing Afghanistan from a lawless haven for terrorists to a stable country. Recent problems with the Karzai administration along with lack of support and problems in Pakistan cast doubt on this conflict being resolved anytime soon.
Written by Seamus Esparza
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