Posted on 11/10/2006 2:43:39 AM PST by twinself
WARSAW, Poland: Poland will deploy some 1,200 troops in Afghanistan by February and will allow them to operate in the volatile southern provinces where allied troops are battling Taliban insurgents, Defense Minister Radek Sikorski said Friday.
The troops will be based mainly in eastern Afghanistan, but could be used anywhere in the country to help allied forces, Sikorski said.
"They will have their area of responsibility and their area of operations, but if there is an operational need to reinforce our allies, including our British allies, (we) have told our soldiers they have no political restrictions on where they move," he said.
"In Afghanistan as NATO we'd have enough troops if they could be used according to military logic rather than according to political constraints."
About 20,000 NATO troops are operating in Afghanistan, along with 21,000 mostly U.S. troops on a separate mission to hunt down terrorists.
NATO had focused on peacekeeping and supporting reconstruction in the north and west. However in August it moved 8,000 troops into the Taliban's southern heartland and was caught by surprise by the ferocity of the insurgents' resistance which drew the alliance into the first major land combat in its six-decade history.
Casualties have been higher than expected, with more than 30 NATO soldiers killed. However, NATO commanders say the Taliban's decision to stand and fight gives the alliance an opportunity to deal them a significant blow before they seek refuge in the hills.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
ping!
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