'NATO Seeking Help from Muslim Nations to Train Afghan Army', International Herald Tribune, 28 November 2007
EXCERPT: "NATO is seeking contributions from Muslim nations for its military force in Afghanistan, hoping Arab nations in North Africa and the Middle East could help train Afghan army units for the fight against the Taliban. [...] U.S. Gen. John Craddock, the supreme allied commander for operations "told a think tank dinner late Tuesday he was hopeful North African and Middle Eastern nations would provide teams of military experts as part of a growing program to train Afghan military units. [...]
"NATO sees that training program as a key part of its strategy to prepare the Afghan army to replace international troops. However, alliance headquarters has struggled to persuade its own 26 members to provide the operational mentoring and liaison teams, known as OMLTs, to embed with Afghan army units. A drive to find more in recent weeks has resulted in a rise in the number of units deployed or planned to about 30. But NATO's target is 46 and growing as more Afghan battalions or "kandaks" are put together... 'The embedded OMLTs and the training they provide is the most important contribution NATO is making in providing security and stability in Afghanistan,' he said. [...]
Craddock, who has overall command of NATO troops in Afghanistan, also complained that several European nations are slow in coming forward with more troops to strengthen the mission, particularly in the southern and eastern regions that have been the focus of much of the renewed fighting over the past two years... He said the shortfalls in maneuver units and air transport were making it difficult for NATO to hold onto ground taken from the Taliban, forcing commanders to take a 'whack-a-mole response,' racing from one area to another to tackle the insurgents where they emerge."
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Related posts:
'Credibility of NATO at Risk in Afghanistan: Gates', 8 November 2007
'Afghanistan Mission Incoherent; More Troops Required', 2 November 2007
'Coalition
Warfare in Afghanistan: Burden-sharing or Disunity?', 16 October 2007
'Sentinels of Afghan Democracy: Afghan National Army', 5 July 2007
'Afghanistan's 'ANA' and the Counter-Insurgency Effort, 2002-2006', 6 June 2007
