NATO May Boost Troops in Afghanistan

NATO will announce its decision to send more troops to Afghanistan tomorrow at its defence ministers’ meeting in NATO’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Hamid Kohistani, Killid reporter from Brussels, reported that the two-day meeting would cover discussions on defence expenses of NATO members, NATO’s role in fight against terrorism, and NATO’s decision to increase troops’ level in Afghanistan. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressing the run-up to of the meeting this afternoon stated, “We (NATO members) are committed to support, train and advise Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF).” He also reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to funding Afghan forces until at least 2020 and said that these troops had proven themselves capable. Stoltenberg further stated that NATO alliance members would also discuss the future of their mission in Afghanistan at Thursday’s meeting. The US general commanding NATO forces in Afghanistan, John Nicholson, had in February told Congress he faces a “shortfall of a few thousand” troops, and warned that “we’re in a stalemate”. The United States has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan and another 5,000 are from its NATO allies.