*Source: DTN News / Int'l Media
(NSI News Source Info) LONDON, UK - December 3, 2009: Britain, Italy and Macedonia said Monday they were ready to send extra soldiers into Afghanistan, as U.S. President Barack Obama was expected to announce a massive surge of U.S. troops for the country. 
British soldiers with the NATO led- International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are seen talking with an Afghan child while patrolling in Sangin district of Helmand province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he expects the allies to boost the NATO-led force by more than 5,000 soldiers. He said the best way to overcome widespread public opposition to the war in Europe is by demonstrating progress on the battlefield.
Obama is expected to unveil on Tuesday plans to send between 30,000 and 35,000 reinforcements to a NATO-led force battling Islamic extremists in Afghanistan as part of a strategy intended to, in his words, "finish the job."
On the eve of his speech, the three European nations said they were also prepared to boost their military commitment to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) drawn from nearly 40 countries.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said London would boost its regular troops in Afghanistan by 500, bringing its total deployment there over the 10,000 mark.
"I believe over the coming months, even more countries will respond," Brown told lawmakers in the House of Commons.
"As long as the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas are the location of choice for al-Qaida and the epicenter of global terrorism, it's the government's judgment that we should address the threat at its source," he said.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Rome was ready to send more troops but he did not specify how many. Italy has 3,250 soldiers in ISAF, the sixth largest contingent in the international alliance.
"Afghanistan is a test for the Atlantic alliance's credibility," Frattini said in comments reported by the ANSA news agency.
"It is clear that Italy must finish the job started with NATO and make a greater contribution if it is needed," he said.
Macedonia - not a NATO member - meanwhile confirmed it would send an extra 80 soldiers from February, adding to its 160 troops already there.
Calls for more troops to fight militants in Afghanistan have mounted amid concerns about the progress of a massive U.S.- and European-led effort to stabilize the country after the Islamist Taliban regime was toppled in 2001.
Obama's expected pledge of more soldiers, which emerged from an exhaustive policy review, aims to bolster the drive to repel a resurgent Taliban, secure major cities and fast-track training for Afghan security forces.
France's Le Monde daily reported on its Web site Monday that the United States had also asked France to put up another 1,500 troops for the allied mission.
The French foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny the report which said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the request on Thursday in a telephone call to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
However, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said he had told Obama in a telephone call Monday that France's priority was the development of the Afghan forces so they can assume a larger role in securing their country.
A London conference on Afghanistan in January would provide an opportunity to assess with the Afghan authorities what was needed, he was cited as saying.
Sarkozy also confirmed "that France remains fully committed to Afghanistan on the side of the Afghan people and its allies for as long as is necessary for the Afghans to progressively assume their responsibilities," it said.
France already has 3,750 soldiers attached to the campaign, 3,400 of them in Afghanistan itself, but Sarkozy's government has insisted that it has no plans to increase the number.
Britain is due to host an international conference on Afghanistan on Jan. 28 at which Afghan President Hamid Karzai is likely to be set tough new benchmarks on fighting extremism in his country.
British soldiers with the NATO led- International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are seen talking with an Afghan child while patrolling in Sangin district of Helmand province, south of Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he expects the allies to boost the NATO-led force by more than 5,000 soldiers. He said the best way to overcome widespread public opposition to the war in Europe is by demonstrating progress on the battlefield.
Obama is expected to unveil on Tuesday plans to send between 30,000 and 35,000 reinforcements to a NATO-led force battling Islamic extremists in Afghanistan as part of a strategy intended to, in his words, "finish the job."
On the eve of his speech, the three European nations said they were also prepared to boost their military commitment to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) drawn from nearly 40 countries.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said London would boost its regular troops in Afghanistan by 500, bringing its total deployment there over the 10,000 mark.
"I believe over the coming months, even more countries will respond," Brown told lawmakers in the House of Commons.
"As long as the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas are the location of choice for al-Qaida and the epicenter of global terrorism, it's the government's judgment that we should address the threat at its source," he said.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Rome was ready to send more troops but he did not specify how many. Italy has 3,250 soldiers in ISAF, the sixth largest contingent in the international alliance.
"Afghanistan is a test for the Atlantic alliance's credibility," Frattini said in comments reported by the ANSA news agency.
"It is clear that Italy must finish the job started with NATO and make a greater contribution if it is needed," he said.
Macedonia - not a NATO member - meanwhile confirmed it would send an extra 80 soldiers from February, adding to its 160 troops already there.
Calls for more troops to fight militants in Afghanistan have mounted amid concerns about the progress of a massive U.S.- and European-led effort to stabilize the country after the Islamist Taliban regime was toppled in 2001.
Obama's expected pledge of more soldiers, which emerged from an exhaustive policy review, aims to bolster the drive to repel a resurgent Taliban, secure major cities and fast-track training for Afghan security forces.
France's Le Monde daily reported on its Web site Monday that the United States had also asked France to put up another 1,500 troops for the allied mission.
The French foreign ministry refused to confirm or deny the report which said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the request on Thursday in a telephone call to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
However, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said he had told Obama in a telephone call Monday that France's priority was the development of the Afghan forces so they can assume a larger role in securing their country.
A London conference on Afghanistan in January would provide an opportunity to assess with the Afghan authorities what was needed, he was cited as saying.
Sarkozy also confirmed "that France remains fully committed to Afghanistan on the side of the Afghan people and its allies for as long as is necessary for the Afghans to progressively assume their responsibilities," it said.
France already has 3,750 soldiers attached to the campaign, 3,400 of them in Afghanistan itself, but Sarkozy's government has insisted that it has no plans to increase the number.
Britain is due to host an international conference on Afghanistan on Jan. 28 at which Afghan President Hamid Karzai is likely to be set tough new benchmarks on fighting extremism in his country.
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