Nato ministers confident over Afghan mission

Nato defence ministers expressed confidence today that their beefed-up peacekeeping force in Afghanistan will stem the recent surge in violence as Nato troops move into the southern heartland of the deposed Taliban regime.

“Nato is coming in massively and robustly,” said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the alliance’s secretary general. “Nobody should be under any illusion that Nato will be chased away from that region.”