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Afghanistan
US 'not satisfied' at NATO support in Afghanistan
2007-10-22
The United States is "not satisfied" with the level of support it is receiving from NATO members in Afghanistan, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday ahead of a meeting of NATO defence ministers. "I am not satisfied that an alliance with members who have over two million soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen cannot find the modest additional resources that have been committed for Afghanistan," Gates told journalists during a trip to Kiev. The resources in question were committed at a NATO summit in Riga in November 2006, he said.

"I intend to pursue this in our meetings in the Netherlands" on Wednesday and Thursday with NATO defence ministers. "This will be clearly the principal theme" of the meeting, he said.

Gates was speaking after a meeting in Kiev of the Southeastern European Defence Ministerial, a body made up of the defence ministers of several country's in the region.
Posted by:anonymous5089

#6  Afghanistan is an excellent mission, just enough to get yer feet wet. Kosovo is a lounge chair. I do not see why military commanders in NATO would not want to get some salt time here. Gates is right.
Posted by: newc   2007-10-22 15:41  

#5  European NATO soldiers range from the excellent to the pathetic. In my last assignment in Germany, I dealt a lot with NATO headquarters. Before that, I was in a tac unit that hosted NATO combattants from time to time. Some of the troops I dealt with were the equal to our Army - the Italian mountain troops, the Norweigan alpine troops, and some of the Germans. The Dutch intelligence folks (Dutch Air Force) were also top-notch, as were some of the Germans. The Belgian enlisted were were worthless, and the French officer we hosted wasn't anything to write home about. The Spanish have some excellent troops, but lousy leadership. The Portuguese are very good, but insular. During my tour, the Poles, Hungarians, etc., were on the other side...

The "end" of the Cold War was a signal for the Europeans to cut their military spending even more, probably far too soon (just as Bill Clinton's gutting of the US military was a gross mistake). With the US heavily engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, Europe is going to have to pony up for its own defense, and the Russian bear is growling again. Having some combat-experienced troops who have rotated through Iraq and Afghanistan would be a major plus for them, but I doubt they will be able to see that.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2007-10-22 13:34  

#4  I've seen some NATO "soldiers" and airmen (non-US) on this installation the past few weeks. Few of them inspired a great deal of confidence, at least as far as personal appearance and fitness goes.
Posted by: Besoeker   2007-10-22 13:14  

#3  What's that Exit Strategy from Kossovo again?

Rapid acceleration.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2007-10-22 13:02  

#2  What's that Exit Strategy from Kossovo again?
Posted by: doc   2007-10-22 12:16  

#1  As my Belgian brother in law once told me "NATO is the US" period. You can't embarrass the French, Germans, Spainards or old Europe into to doing more. They are incapable and lack the will. If I was an American GI in Afghanistan the last thing I would want is some "laizze-faire" Euro-soldier watching my back.
Posted by: Jack is Back!   2007-10-22 11:35  

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