Italy debates its role in Afghanistan war

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A deadly bombing caused Italy to become the latest nation to question its role in Afghanistan on Friday, highlighting the pressure facing dozens of militaries confronting a protracted war — and an Afghan government ill-equipped to handle its problems alone.

Final election results from last month’s presidential vote are weeks away at best, and violence is on the rise — demonstrated by the explosion that killed 10 Afghans and six Italian soldiers on one of Kabul’s main roadways. The bombing prompted Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to call for a “transition strategy” to allow the Afghan government to do more for its own security and decrease international troop levels.

The Italian deaths were the country’s greatest single loss in the war. Another Italian official called for troops to be out by Christmas.

This is already the deadliest year for NATO troops in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion that ousted the Taliban, with more than 300 deaths. The summer has been particularly bloody as thousands of U.S. troops poured into insurgent strongholds in the south and the Taliban mounted campaigns of violence around last month’s election.

In Afghanistan, NATO’s Italian chief of staff said many governments are discussing force reductions but only within the scope of normal planning. Maj. Gen. Marco Bertolini said the Italian deaths do not diminish his country’s commitment, insisting the government and military “share together the strong will to accomplish our mission” and that no NATO forces are threatening to withdraw.

“We are having discussions in Italy. I know that also in the other countries there is the same. But until now, at our level, I must be sincere, we haven’t received any decrease in terms of commitment by anyone,” Bertolini said. “There are contingents that probably could be reduced or withdrawn in the future, but I must recognize that everybody continues to be fully committed.”

Afghanistan’s president reiterated that his government is far from ready to take on insurgents alone.

The Afghan army is “still not ready to the extent that it would take on the whole responsibility,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview with CNN broadcast Thursday. “That’s why the international community is here, to engage and struggle against terrorism and also to build the Afghan forces.”

In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mark Wright said the U.S. values Italy as a partner in the Afghanistan war, where Italian troops play an important role in the country’s west.

But the Afghan partnership with international forces has been full of tension. At a press conference Thursday, Karzai found himself alternately chastising German forces for making a major mistake in calling an airstrike that killed civilians and insisting that Germany is a “good friend” to Afghanistan.