2,000 NATO Troops May Be Afghan-Bound  09/06 09:47

   NATO may deploy 2,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan to join the 
140,000-strong international force already there, an official said Monday.

   BRUSSELS (AP) -- NATO may deploy 2,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan to join 
the 140,000-strong international force already there, an official said Monday.

   Top U.S. and NATO commander Gen. David Petraeus asked for the additional 
troops, nearly half of whom will be trainers for the rapidly expanding Afghan 
security forces, said the official who requested anonymity because he was not 
authorized to speak on the subject.

   Petraeus also asked for troops who know how to neutralize roadside bombs, 
the cause of 60 percent of the 2,000 allied deaths in the nine-year war. They 
have also accounted for 30 percent of all Afghan civilian deaths.

   The request comes ahead of NATO's November summit, where the Afghan conflict 
will be a major topic of discussion. The alliance has had trouble raising more 
troops for the war effort, with at least 450 training slots still unfilled 
after more than a year.

   The additional trainers are considered the essential element in allied plans 
to increase Afghanistan's army and police from the present 300,000 members to 
400,000 by next year, when the drawdown of international troops is expected to 
start.

   It is not clear exactly where the new troops will come from since the war is 
deeply unpopular in many of NATO's 28 member states. In Europe, polls show the 
majority of voters consider it an unnecessary drain on finances at a time of 
sharp cuts in public spending and other austerity measures.

   The official said the new trainers were needed to staff new schools for 
combat support and service support specialties to enable the transition of 
responsibility to the Afghan forces.

   NATO officials have said the additional instructors are difficult to come by 
because none of the member states has large numbers of such specialists 
available for assignment to Afghanistan.

   Another NATO official, who also asked not to be named for the same reason, 
said the renewed request for more trainers and explosives disposal experts was 
part of a routine review of force requirements.

   "There is an ongoing discussion on possible additional resources needed to 
continue supporting the efforts under way," she said.

   A number of instructors have been killed in a series of attacks by Afghans 
against coalition partners, raising fears of Taliban infiltration as the U.S. 
and its allies speed up the training of Afghan forces.

   Several NATO members may start reducing their contingents in Afghanistan 
after 2011. The Dutch have already withdrawn their contingent from southern 
Afghanistan and the Canadians have said they would follow suit.


(KA)