NATO chiefs to commit to Afghan expansion

Sofia, Apr 28 : NATO foreign ministers reaffirmed today the alliance's readiness to nearly double its peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, where violence is increasing.

Ahead of key report to the United Nations on Tehran's nuclear ambitions, Iran also loomed over the two days of talks in the Bulgarian capital, with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others yesterday calling for tough action if it ignored demands to suspend uranium enrichment.

However, diplomats said no decisions were taken over next steps on Iran during a late-night session yesterday.

NATO's plan to raise troop levels in Afghanistan to some 17,000 from July and help the United States wind down its presence in the perilous south will send the alliance on what is set to be the toughest ground mission in its 58-year history.

Remnants of the Taliban movement that ruled Afghanistan until it was ousted by the United States in 2001 announced a spring offensive in March and the country has seen a rise in the kind of suicide bombings seen in Iraq.

''There is a shared determination to push forward with the expansion of the mission,'' NATO spokesman James Appathurai said of the minister's talks.

''The second message from the talks was that NATO forces should use robustly the robust rules of engagement they have. This will be an effective deterrent against attacks,'' he told reporters.

NATO took over the International Security Assistance Force peacekeeping mission in 2003 and covers the capital Kabul, the north and west. The move south and subsequently east will help the United States wind down its troop presence from 19,000 to 16,500 this year.

Britain, Canada and the Netherlands are due to lead the deployment to the south, which includes the country's main opium-growing region and most dangerous territories.

Suspicion

Violence in parts of the south and east of Afghanistan has been at its worst since the Taliban were toppled. Thirteen Americans have been among 18 foreign troops killed this year. Nearly 60 Americans were killed last year, the worst for US forces since they invaded in 2001.

Four Canadian soldiers were killed in a roadside blast on April 22 and a French Marine was killed in early March.

The NATO meeting will also study what the 26-member alliance can do to support peace efforts in the Western Sudanese region of Darfur, hit by violence in which tens of thousands of people have died and 2 million have fled in the last three years.

Rice yesterday said the current African Union mission was not robust enough to deal with the violence in Darfur, and urged NATO to provide more of its existing support in areas such as transport, communications and intelligence.

While there is broad support in the alliance to do more, some European nations are concerned that too large a NATO mission could be counter-productive in a region where a Western military presence would be viewed with suspicion.

While NATO officials stress the alliance has no direct role in diplomacy over Iran's nuclear programme and has not been called on to study any military options, ministers used the Sofia talks to discuss possible next steps in the stand-off.

Rice said yesterday it was highly unlikely that Tehran would bow to U.N. demands that it suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to make atomic bombs or to fuel power stations, and said the UN Security Council should be ready to take action.

The United States, backed by Britain and France, favours limited sanctions if Iran refuses to halt enrichment very soon. Russia and China, the UN Security Council's other two veto-holding permanent members, have so far opposed such moves.

The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is widely expected to tell the UN Security Council today that Iran has not stopped enriching uranium.

Reuters