Poland announced today it would send 1,000 more troops to Afghanistan in the first offer since an urgent NATO appeal for reinforcements, but it said they would only be on the ground by next February.
NATO's top commander last week requested up to 2,500 extra troops to help combat fiercer-than-expected Taliban resistance in the south before the onset of winter in coming weeks. But nations failed to make any firm offers at talks yesterday.
Polish officials agreed with NATO that most troops would go to east Afghanistan rather than southern provinces where British, Dutch and Canadian troops are battling Taliban insurgents.
But Polish Deputy Defence Minister Boguslaw Winid said it was still a matter of discussions if some could be shifted south.
"We have to talk through all details with NATO and the final decision will be made by the president soon," he said in an interview.
While the Polish offer by no means solves NATO's troop and equipment shortfalls, Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer welcomed it and said the contingent could be a reserve force supporting operations across the whole country.
"This is a very important step," he told reporters in Brussels. "If it comes, it would free up other forces. The idea is a reserve for the whole of Afghanistan. We are not linking this to the north or south or east."
Today's announcement confirmed a long-held plan for Poland, which currently has 100 soldiers in Afghanistan, to add troops there as part of a NATO rotation due next February.
Poland's opposition criticised the announcement and military experts said that by sending more troops to Afghanistan, the Polish government was overstretching the army.
"This declaration is too ambitious," said General Stanislaw Koziej, a former defence minister. "We are reaching the limits," he told Polish television.
Alliance officials say it will take total troop levels of its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) up to 21,000.