# NATO Chief Wants to Float Afghanistan Troop Rotation Idea



## GAP (24 Oct 2007)

NATO Chief Wants to Float Afghanistan Troop Rotation Idea  
Article Link

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Wednesday, Oct. 24, that he would circulate the concept of rotating forces in Afghanistan's more dangerous regions and intends to put the motion to member governments.

NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer made the announcement before talks with allied defense ministers in the coastal town of Noordwijk in the Netherlands.

"If you look at the necessity for political, military and financial solidarity in Afghanistan, I do think that at a certain stage I would like to see more rotation in Afghanistan," he told reporters, according to AFP news agency.

"I'll not table a rotation plan, I'll mention it and I hope that me mentioning it and possibly ministers discussing this will have some impact," he said ahead of talks with the ministers. 

Later, at the start of talks, Scheffer said: "Our top priority today is Afghanistan, where we are supporting the United Nations' efforts under a UN mandate," according to dpa.

The United States has urged its European allies to provide more troops to fight Taliban militants.

ISAF commanders want more troops

Currently, the US, British, Canadian and Dutch troops are bearing most of the burden of fighting militants in the volatile south and east of Afghanistan.

 Commanders with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have asked for more combat troops and aircraft, particularly helicopters, to confront the Taliban insurgency. However, many allies --  including Germany -- do not want to deploy soldiers to the most dangerous areas, like the south.
More on link


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## The Bread Guy (24 Oct 2007)

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.....

Some alternative outcomes:

1)  Every country says, "this is a WONDERFUL idea, but here are the special considerations behind OUR not being part of the rotation...."
2)  A majority of countries just reject the idea outright.
3)  All agree in principle, but endless proposal-and-counterproposal leads to an essential stall on IMPLEMENTATION of the idea.
4)  All come on board, saying, "yeah, it DOES seem that the combat workload isn't spread as equally as it could be".

I'd buy a lottery ticket before I'd bet on #4, though...


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## The Bread Guy (24 Oct 2007)

Holy riding the coat-tails, Batman!!!!!!!!!

*NATO Secretary General Echoes Liberal Party Calls for Canadian Troop Rotation*
Liberal Party of Canada news release, 24 Oct 07 - en français

OTTAWA – Comments by NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer encouraging troop rotations in Afghanistan prove that it is time for the Conservative government to clearly indicate to our allies that our soldiers should be moved out of their combat mission in Kandahar in February 2009, Liberal Defence Critic Denis Coderre said today.

“Unlike the Conservatives, our party has been clear all along. We support our troops, we applaud their successes, and we recognize that Canada and the Canadian Forces have a role to play in Afghanistan past 2009,” said Mr. Coderre. “But it is time for our NATO allies to share the combat load and step up in Kandahar.”

The secretary-general made his remarks at the opening of a conference of NATO Defence Ministers being held in Norway. Other allies, such as the Netherlands, have also called for troop rotations, which would allow more countries in the military alliance to share some of the burden for patrolling southern Afghanistan.

“While I was in Afghanistan, meeting with our troops, it became obvious that there is a lot of pride in what our soldiers have been able to accomplish,” Mr. Coderre said. “I want us to be able to build on those accomplishments, but we cannot discuss what role our troops will play in Afghanistan beyond 2009 until this government comes clean and notifies our allies that someone else has to take over for us in the combat mission in Kandahar.”

The Prime Minister has dodged meaningful debate in Parliament and has been quick to question the patriotism of anyone who disagrees with him on the Kandahar question. Mr. Harper’s position, said Mr. Coderre, is made more complicated by the secretary-general’s comments.

“Will the Prime Minister now attack the secretary-general for reaching the same conclusions that the Liberal Party has been pushing for over a year now?” said Mr. Coderre.

“The Prime Minister should immediately support the position of the secretary-general, and call for our troops to be rotated out of the combat mission in Kandahar by February 2009.”


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## tomahawk6 (24 Oct 2007)

The Secretary-General should be told to stay out of Canadian politics.


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## GAP (24 Oct 2007)

That is not going to fly and everybody knows it. The time to initiate something like that was in 2001....not 2007


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## tomahawk6 (24 Oct 2007)

What we really need is one ROE for ALL NATO forces. This would solve the manpower problem.


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## The Bread Guy (24 Oct 2007)

tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> The Secretary-General should be told to stay out of Canadian politics.



Maybe Canada's Liberals should consider staying out of NATO stuff if they're not in charge any more, and don't have the spine to stand up to vote in the House for what they SAY they believe in....  

I'm reading this more as a blatant "Liberals latching on to anything to seem relevant" move than NATO's Sec-Gen necessarily delving into CAN politics (any more than, say, someone suggesting he's also delving into German politics because he's suggesting they take a turn in the breech, too, like all the other countries not doing so).



			
				tomahawk6 said:
			
		

> What we really need is one ROE for ALL NATO forces. This would solve the manpower problem.



In a perfect world, bang on!  Sadly, looking at the UN shows how multi-national political groupings can work when developing "consensus" positions ("herding cats" is such a harsh term - can you tell I have little faith in these systems?)



			
				GAP said:
			
		

> That is not going to fly and everybody knows it. The time to initiate something like that was in 2001....not 2007



Yup - and it would have been interesting to see how many troops various countries would have contributed under THOSE conditions going in.


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## geo (25 Oct 2007)

Tony...
Mr Coderre & Mr Dion will go against anything proposed / supported by Stephen Harper & his Conservatives.
Unless they can "nip & tuck" remodel it as their product & claim it as their idea.


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## The Bread Guy (25 Oct 2007)

Ah, the "opposition is there to oppose" model.  Really useful for getting things done - NOT!


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## geo (25 Oct 2007)

If I recall, Mr Harper, Mr Day & Mr Manning made ample use of the same model not that long ago.

It's a job.


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## Greymatters (25 Oct 2007)

GAP said:
			
		

> "I'll not table a rotation plan, I'll mention it and I hope that me mentioning it and possibly ministers discussing this will have some impact," he said ahead of talks with the ministers.



Yeah, right....  sounds more like "I dont want to do any work on it, but maybe something else will, and in the end I'll get the credit because I mentioned it first..."


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