NATO fails in Afghan troop bid

NATO yesterday failed to win new troop commitments urgently needed for its Afghanistan campaign, but said a 10-day offensive to dislodge Taliban fighters was achieving its goals despite the shortage of troops.

“No formal offers were made at the table,” NATO spokesman James Appathurai said after an emergency NATO gathering aimed at finding contributions for an expanded force.

But he told a news conference some allies had given “positive indications” on the reinforcements, but suggested final decisions may have to wait until a September 28 meeting of NATO defence ministers.

That delay would likely mean the extra troops would not deploy early enough to be used against the Taliban before the onset of the winter, when Nato’s top commander, US Gen Jones, fears the insurgents will slip back and regroup in mountain hideaways.

But Mr Appathurai said the southern offensive was moving ahead. “Operation Medusa is going well,” he said. “It is not complete yet, but I can tell you that a significant proportion of the objective has been taken, in fact over two-thirds of the objective has been taken.”

The operation was launched on September 2 as a response to Taliban attacks in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

Their reluctance has raised new concerns about

NATO’s unity and brought appeals from leaders of those nations in the spearhead of the anti-Taliban operations.

“It is important that the whole of NATO regards this as their responsibility,” Tony Blair said.