France To The Rescue?
The Canadians have performed magnificently in Afghanistan, but they need more resources. They have asked NATO, in coordination with the US, to provide more troops to their front-line position, and have threatened to withdraw entirely unless Europe starts sharing the load. Help may come from the least-likely source, according to an anonymous French military official:
In American military parlance, it's gut-check time for NATO in Afghanistan, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy appears ready to answer allies' calls for more forces to fight the Taliban and al-Qaida.As early as Thursday, Sarkozy's top brass is to present him with a variety of options, from sending special forces to more trainers for Afghan troops, a French military official told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity, because the decisions will ultimately rest with Sarkozy.
Sarkozy isn't expected to announce a final decision until the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania, in early April, which is shaping up as a litmus test of his commitment to the Atlantic alliance which has often had a rocky relationship with France.
For Sarkozy, it's a chance to put muscle where his mouth is. The pro-American French leader has been promising to turn the page from the era of predecessor Jacques Chirac, who in 2006 ordered 200 French special forces out of Afghanistan and was a major critic of the U.S.-led Iraq war.
The NATO mission, known as the International Security Assistance Force, is strained over Canada's demand for 1,000 troops from another ally to support its 2,500 in the increasingly violence-wracked region of Kandahar, in Afghanistan's south. Ottawa has said it will pull them out when its mandate ends next year if no one answers its call.
The change in leadership in France has had a beneficial effect already. Chirac would never have agreed to send more troops to Afghanistan, but Sarkozy has a clearer vision of the threat facing the West, especially if the Taliban return to power. His years as interior minister showed him what a wave of Islamist passion can do, and is still doing in France.
France cannot send 1,000 troops itself. It can provide enough leadership, and embarrass other European nations enough, to force them to send more troops. At the moment, the combat missions have primarily been handled by American, British, and Canadian forces. Europe has mostly limited themselves to security in the rear and training missions. A move by France to bolster combat missions would force Germany and others to consider a shift as well.
If NATO wants to survive with a purpose in the post-Soviet era, then it needs to fully participate in threat reduction. The Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan would provide such a threat. In fact, the Madrid and London bombings show that they are already a threat, as do the less-successful attempts in France and Germany. If NATO wants to surrender to that threat, then we need to rethink our security commitments in Europe altogether.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on February 14, 2008 7:43 AM | Comments () | TrackBacks (1)
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