STRASBOURG, France — European nations pledged today on the eve of NATO’s 60th anniversary summit that they would support America’s new Afghan war strategy with more civilian aid and small troop increases. President Barack Obama said Europe should not expect the U.S. to shoulder the military burden alone.
NATO leaders have been reluctant to commit significant new military forces to the deadlocked conflict despite Obama’s plan to add 21,000 U.S. troops to the force of 38,000 fighting the rising insurgency. The Europeans have focused on increasing humanitarian and development aid.
NATO’s ability to succeed in Afghanistan will be seen as a crucial test of the alliance’s power and relevance.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged after talks with Obama that his nation would send more police trainers and civilian aid.
“We totally endorse and support America’s new strategy in Afghanistan,” Sarkozy told a joint news conference.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also met with Obama and said Germany wanted to bear its share of the responsibility in Afghanistan. She offered no specifics about Germany’s plans for Afghanistan, where it already has 3,800 troops, mostly in the calmer north.
Backing from Sarkozy and Merkel is vitally important for Obama, who will formally present his new strategy to the heads of government of NATO’s 28 member states at a dinner tonight in the German resort town of Baden-Baden.
At the news conference with Sarkozy, Obama described NATO as “the most successful alliance in modern history,” and said Washington wanted to see Europe develop its military capabilities.
But Obama also encouraged a skeptical Europe to support his revamped strategy for rooting out terrorism suspects in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and said Europe should not expect America to send combat troops by itself.
“This is a joint problem,” Obama said on the cusp of the NATO summit. “And it requires a joint effort.”
Obama offered strong praise for France’s “outstanding leadership” in Afghanistan, where it has 6,100 troops.
British officials traveling to the summit with Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters aboard his plane that Brown will offer to send more troops to Afghanistan but that depended upon other NATO members being prepared to send additional forces, Britain’s Press Association reported. Officials said the number likely would be in the “mid to high hundreds.” Britain has 8,000 troops in Afghanistan.
Spain said ahead of the summit that it will increase the number of soldiers it has in Afghanistan with a small contingent to help train Afghan army officers. Spain has 778 troops as part of the 55,000-strong NATO presence.
Belgium said it will add some 65 soldiers to the force of 500 it already has in Afghanistan, and will send two more F-16 jet fighters, bringing the total number it has sent to six. Belgium also will double its financial aid to an annual $14.5 million over the next two years.
Another item that will loom large during the two-day summit is Russia. The Obama administration and NATO allies are eager to repair relations with Moscow after the freeze that followed the Russo-Georgian War in August and they are expected to approve moves to normalize relations with Moscow.
The packed agenda also includes starting work on an updated doctrine that will define the alliance’s role and values in the 21st century and choosing the alliance’s next secretary-general.
And the leaders may announce a decision on who will succeed Dutch diplomat Jaap de Hoop Scheffer whose term runs out Aug. 1.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has emerged as the leading candidate, despite opposition from Turkey. Fogh Rasmussen infuriated many Muslims by speaking out in favor of freedom of speech during an uproar over Danish publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2006.
The two-day conference — co-hosted by the Rhine river cities of Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany — is the second of three major international meetings taking place in Europe this week.
Obama and the leaders of the Group of 20 nations made headway Thursday on tackling the world’s worst financial crisis since the 1930s. The U.S. president’s meeting Sunday with European Union leaders in Prague also will focus on economic issues.
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