U.S. scrambling to keep Afghanistan pact intact

Two top Bush administration officials sought this week to put a positive spin on the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan, but it remains to be seen whether they were successful in getting allies to commit more fighting forces.

The full-court press by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Kabul and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Lithuania reflects the Bush administration’s concern about the growing presence of Islamic extremists in Afghanistan. It also is an acknowledgment that America’s military is stretched thin as a result of the war in Iraq.

The U.S. already contributes one-third of NATO’s 42,000 member International Security Assistance Force mission, and Britain follows with 7.700 soldiers.

The U.S. also has another 12,000 or so troops involved in counterterrorism operations.

Not lost on Rice and Gates is the fact that last year was the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led coalition ousted the Taliban rulers in 2001.

According to an Associated Press count, more than 6.500 people, mostly insurgents, died in violence in 2007.

But NATO members aren’t rushing to get on board, arguing that the Bush administration’s emphasis on military force may not be the best strategy.

A Washington Post report on the latest dust-up involving the U.S. and its allies made reference to an encounter last year between Gen. Dan McNeill, the top U.S. commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, and a senior German official. The Post reported that when McNeill asked if Germany would devote more than the 6,000 troops it has in the coalition force, the German official replied: “You must understand the political context in our country. General that will not happen.”

The newspaper reported that the official wagged his finger as he spoke to McNeill.

The divide

This illustrates the divide that exists between the Bush administration’s view of Afghanistan’s role in the war on global terrorism and how other NATO members see things.

Many nations supported the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan after it was shown that most of the 9/11 al-Qaida terrorists came from training camps in Afghanistan and that the Taliban rulers were providing Osama bin Laden and members of his inner circle with a safe haven.

The coalition invasion was an initial success. The Taliban was ousted and bin Laden and his advisers were forced to flee into the mountain region dividing Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But then President Bush declared war on Iraq, led at the time by Saddam Hussein, and American troops were reassigned from Afghanistan.

That resulted in a weakening of the coalition and a return of the Taliban to the parts of Afghanistan led by cooperative chieftains.

In 2006, NATO took over the mission and since then the Bush administration has expressed concern about the willingness of participating nations to provide an adequate number of troops.

Thus, while Secretary of State Rice and Defense Secretary Gates were insisting that things are looking up, their push for a greater commitment by the allies reflects the administration’s concern.

Rather than attempting to portray countries such as Germany as less than willing participants, it’s time for President Bush to meet with the heads of various nations and encourage them voice their concerns and offer suggestions about the reenergized Taliban. In addition, he should explore with his counterparts solutions to the growing influence of Islamic extremists.