EU politicians accused of holding back on reinforcements for Afghanistan

A lack of political will, not troop shortages, is stopping European countries increasing their forces in Afghanistan, the EU's top military officer declared today.

Allied commander US General Stanley McChrystal is believed to have asked President Barack Obama for up to 40,000 more troops to fight the Taliban-led insurgency and help rebuild the country.

Many EU nations have soldiers fighting in the 68,000-strong Nato force but are reluctant to boost troop levels.

"There's still room for manoeuvre, but it's a question of political will," Gen. Henri Bentegeat, who heads the EU's Military Committee, said before a meeting of EU defence ministers in Sweden.

Germany's Franz Josef Jung said there was no discussion within Nato about boosting troop levels so far and called for clearer goals on what the alliance hopes to accomplish in Afghanistan.

"We have to find common ground on where we are, and based on that we must undertake the efforts needed to reach that goal," Jung told reporters at the defence ministers meeting in Goteborg.

When asked if Germany was prepared to increase its troop commitment, he said "our mandate is limited to 4,500 soldiers," referring to a mandate from the German Parliament.

Yesterday Britain said it had only limited scope to send more troops to Afghanistan, despite calls from military leaders to support Gen. McChrystal's demand for extra soldiers.

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a Washington think tank yesterday that the US and its allies need to focus more clearly on preparing Afghan military and civilian forces to take the lead in securing and building their nation.

The EU will wait for the results of Afghanistan's August 20 election - expected early in October - before deciding its next step, foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.

EU ministers today also said they are considering a mission to train security forces of Somalia's transitional government. The mission would likely be similar to a French operation training 500 Somalis in neighbouring Djibouti.

Swedish Defence Minister Sten Tolgfors said there was broad agreement among ministers at the informal meeting that training security forces outside Somalia would help bolster the country's government.

"There seems to be interest among many (ministers) to have a broader engagement, but no decision here yet," he said. Ministers will discuss the issue again at a formal meeting in Brussels in November.

Jung said training Somali forces also would help tackle piracy off the country's coast.

"We can only be successful if we make efforts not only at sea but also on land," he said, adding that Germany was, in principle, "ready to support this".