FRENCH PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy offered US president Barack Obama his “full support” for the new Afghan strategy but stopped short of committing more French troops to the war. Neither was there an immediate promise from Berlin to send extra troops.
With some 3,750 of its soldiers currently in Afghanistan, France has the fourth largest military contingent in the Nato coalition after the US, the UK and Germany.
Mr Sarkozy praised the “courage, determination and clear-sightedness” of President Obama’s speech in New York and offered him his “full support”. He also reiterated that France would remain “firmly committed” with its allies for “as long as necessary, alongside the Afghan people”.
Mr Sarkozy did not disclose whether more French troops would be made available, however, saying only that “the nature of our involvement” would be discussed at a forthcoming Nato meeting and during an international summit on Afghanistan, which is due to take place in London in January.
These meetings would allow for a wider discussion on issues such as governance, economic development and the struggle against the drug trade in Afghanistan.
“It is within this renewed context that France will examine its contribution to the international strategy,” Mr Sarkozy said.
Reports suggest that Mr Obama requested an extra 2,500 troops from Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel, having spoken to the US president by phone on Tuesday, said: “We hear the wishes of the US. We will not decide at the moment but after the Afghanistan conference [in London].”
Dr Merkel’s restraint is explained by this morning’s Bundestag vote on renewing Germany’s existing mission in Afghanistan. What in previous years was a hotly argued if routine parliamentary vote on the annual mandate is now mired in controversy after claims that the German defence ministry was less than candid on civilian casualties after a German-ordered military strike in Afghanistan last September.
The defence minister in charge when two petrol tankers hijacked by the Taliban were bombed – killing up to 40 civilians – has since resigned from Dr Merkel’s cabinet.
Now the German leader herself could face questions about the events before a parliamentary commission: the opposition wants to know if there was an attempt to cover the facts of the bombing until after the general election three weeks later.
Military experts from Dr Merkel’s CDU admitted yesterday that any large-scale boost in troop numbers would require a new Bundestag mandate. That would open a political line of attack for the opposition parties such as the Greens and the Left Party. They have argued for months that the current conditions faced by German soldiers no longer resembles those agreed in the original mandate.
French media have reported that Mr Sarkozy was asked to send 1,500 extra combat troops to Afghanistan. However, government spokesmen have stressed that a successful exit strategy will hinge not just on western military power but on building the capacity of Afghan security forces.
In an interview with Le Figaro in October, Mr Sarkozy said France did not envisage sending more troops to Afghanistan and that what was needed was “more Afghan soldiers”.
Meanwhile, in Poland, prime minister Donald Tusk has said he would be open to boosting the country’s contingent by 2,000 on condition of a withdrawal beginning two years from now.