Afghanistan and NATO

[905]

It seems the Americans are not best pleased with Europe's contribution in this region and are now suggesting that NATO's future is on the line.
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/ ... 33604.html

Is this pointing to an unbridgable gulf between priorities on either side of the Atlantic? Or is it just another manifestation of the 'NATO is redundant' argument which has cropped up periopdically for years now.

[Thac0man]

I think the Afghan government should speak up or seek aid from other Muslim majority nations.

[905]

I think the Afghan government should speak up or seek aid from other Muslim majority nations.

If Asi-Irish is around I can see this turning into a debate about whether the US would permit Afghanistan to invite more Muslims into the country. But that would be going WILDLY OFF TOPIC! And I'd hate to accuse you of such a heinious crime.

But are the Americans being fair in accusing Europeans of draft-dodging?
I'm not aware that they've apologised to the Spanish after their dreadful remarks following the Madrid bombings and Spain's pull-out of Iraq, so I'm inclined to be a bit bitter.

[Thac0man]

I think NATO members should put the troops up for the Afghan job, the memerbs did ok the mission there so there responsiblity cannot end with that. The same poltical quagmire that shrouds Iraq does not exist in Afghanistan. Having done little or nothing to alieviate the suffering of the Afghans during the Taliban, European countries should step forward now. I dont see the justification in withholding badly needed reinforcements.

[ManOfReason]

Well considering that the German helicopter pilots insist on being home in time for tea, even if there is a battle going on, then I think NATO has become a waste of time.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle2890985.ece

[forest]

the afghan thing was always thought of as NATO's 1st big challenge (despite existing for 50 years before hand) and it failed
I hope nato does split

[905]

Perhaps they feel that it just isn't their war? I mean, you can't blame Germany for not putting troops forward when it's deeply unpopular. People find even less reason to be in Afghanistan than in Iraq, so it's worse in a way.

That they did nothing to alieviate the sufferings of the Afghans during the Taliban's reign is irrelevant; there are loads of people they routinely ignore.

[PearseRanger]

We should pull all our troops out of Afghanistan.

All seven of them

[Vinegarhill]

What role do out troops have, are they Army Ranger Wing?

[Squire Allworthy]

At the risk of being stupid just how much of western security is at risk in Afghanistan? We helped create the mess and used it to break the back of the Red Army and then we in our infinite wisdom decide to move ourselves into the firing line. It is a waste of time thinking of it as a country, it is a collection fiefdoms run by people who have self interest at heart. Of prime importance to us is reducing our dependence on oil.

Europe is just not behind this sort of involvement. The problem with NATO is basically the same as the problem with the EU. It just does not have a collective sense of common purpose. Europe does not view the world in terms of European interests but instead it is bedeviled by over riding and conflicting national interests. In my opinion the way the balance of power is shifting that outlook needs to change quickly. We need to communicate with the world in a more collective manner and apply some common standards to our foreign policy. Turkey, Russia, the Balkans, North Africa and the Middle East are a lot closer to us than they are to the USA and given our historic links we should have a better handle on the issues.