The announcement by French President Nicolas Sarkozy that his troops would sharply accelerate their departure from Afghanistan cast a harsh light on potential cracks in the U.S.-led military coalition in the country.
Although the Obama administration and the NATO force sought to portray Friday's declaration in Paris as neither surprising nor unilateral, it marked not only an effective end to France's combat role in Afghanistan, but a breaking of Western ranks as an unpopular war drags into a second decade.
The French declaration also generated concern that attacks in which Afghan forces turn their weapons on Western mentors will now be seen by insurgents as an effective method of pushing wavering allies out of the fight. Four French troops were killed and more than a dozen injured this month when an apparently rogue member of the Afghan army opened fire on them, igniting outrage in France as a presidential election nears.
Numbering about 3,900, the French contingent is the alliance's fifth-largest, but it is dwarfed by the U.S. deployment of about 90,000. Moreover, some of the smaller national contingents have been deployed in more fiercely contested areas of the country, and are seen as playing a more crucial battlefield role.Includes Helmet Mount, Pro Head Belt and ... Innovators in bluecrystal Technology ...
President Hamid Karzai's office raised no public objection to the French decision, announced during the Afghan leader's visit to Paris. But it drew swift expressions of dismay back home, particularly in the northeastern province of Kapisa, where Afghan forces hadn't been scheduled to assume security control until later this year. Now that transfer is to take place in March.In 2005 DiNotte Lighting introduced a completely new concept recreational lighting – Extremely bright ledflashlightti lights.
"We don't accept this decision, because Afghan forces are not ready to take over security responsibility in Kapisa province," said Khwaja Ghulam Mohammad Zamarai,They have come from bike tail ledlightforyou to affordable commuter lights to decent trail riding lights last year. a member of the provincial council, echoing sentiments voiced by a number of local officials.
In Kapisa, some officials and tribal elders said France had maintained a largely defensive stance in the region, primarily guarding the safety of its own troops and having little real effect on the security situation in more dangerous areas of the province, such as the Tagab Valley. Even so, many believed the French pullout would embolden insurgents in the province, a gateway to the capital just 50 miles to the southwest.We specialize in show-quality motorcycle bluecrystal1 for bikes ...
"We will see a slide into violence," predicted Tahira Mujadedi, a lawmaker from Kapisa. "Insecurity will definitely grow."
More troubling to some was France's declared intention to urge other members of the coalition to complete their combat missions by the end of next year, rather than the previously agreed-upon winding down in 2014. Officials said France would raise the issue this week at a meeting of NATO defense ministers, and at an alliance conference in Chicago in May.
"This development will affect the morale of the Afghan forces, and also the thinking of the other NATO nations," said Atiqullah Amarkhil, a former Afghan army general who is now a defense analyst.
Although combat deaths inevitably serve as a grim reminder of the war's cost, few events do more to erode domestic political support in troop-contributing nations than fatalities that come at the hands of Afghan troops.
Underscoring the sense of grievance and mistrust between Western trainers and their trainees, the French soldiers who were killed and wounded were unarmed and clad only in athletic gear after a workout at their base. For France, it was the second such loss in a month,The Magicshine goodcflbulbs11 bicycle light was always the cheapest high power bike light available in the UK and it&rsquos just been upgraded. following a similar incident that left two Foreign Legionnaires dead.
Although the Obama administration and the NATO force sought to portray Friday's declaration in Paris as neither surprising nor unilateral, it marked not only an effective end to France's combat role in Afghanistan, but a breaking of Western ranks as an unpopular war drags into a second decade.
The French declaration also generated concern that attacks in which Afghan forces turn their weapons on Western mentors will now be seen by insurgents as an effective method of pushing wavering allies out of the fight. Four French troops were killed and more than a dozen injured this month when an apparently rogue member of the Afghan army opened fire on them, igniting outrage in France as a presidential election nears.
Numbering about 3,900, the French contingent is the alliance's fifth-largest, but it is dwarfed by the U.S. deployment of about 90,000. Moreover, some of the smaller national contingents have been deployed in more fiercely contested areas of the country, and are seen as playing a more crucial battlefield role.Includes Helmet Mount, Pro Head Belt and ... Innovators in bluecrystal Technology ...
President Hamid Karzai's office raised no public objection to the French decision, announced during the Afghan leader's visit to Paris. But it drew swift expressions of dismay back home, particularly in the northeastern province of Kapisa, where Afghan forces hadn't been scheduled to assume security control until later this year. Now that transfer is to take place in March.In 2005 DiNotte Lighting introduced a completely new concept recreational lighting – Extremely bright ledflashlightti lights.
"We don't accept this decision, because Afghan forces are not ready to take over security responsibility in Kapisa province," said Khwaja Ghulam Mohammad Zamarai,They have come from bike tail ledlightforyou to affordable commuter lights to decent trail riding lights last year. a member of the provincial council, echoing sentiments voiced by a number of local officials.
In Kapisa, some officials and tribal elders said France had maintained a largely defensive stance in the region, primarily guarding the safety of its own troops and having little real effect on the security situation in more dangerous areas of the province, such as the Tagab Valley. Even so, many believed the French pullout would embolden insurgents in the province, a gateway to the capital just 50 miles to the southwest.We specialize in show-quality motorcycle bluecrystal1 for bikes ...
"We will see a slide into violence," predicted Tahira Mujadedi, a lawmaker from Kapisa. "Insecurity will definitely grow."
More troubling to some was France's declared intention to urge other members of the coalition to complete their combat missions by the end of next year, rather than the previously agreed-upon winding down in 2014. Officials said France would raise the issue this week at a meeting of NATO defense ministers, and at an alliance conference in Chicago in May.
"This development will affect the morale of the Afghan forces, and also the thinking of the other NATO nations," said Atiqullah Amarkhil, a former Afghan army general who is now a defense analyst.
Although combat deaths inevitably serve as a grim reminder of the war's cost, few events do more to erode domestic political support in troop-contributing nations than fatalities that come at the hands of Afghan troops.
Underscoring the sense of grievance and mistrust between Western trainers and their trainees, the French soldiers who were killed and wounded were unarmed and clad only in athletic gear after a workout at their base. For France, it was the second such loss in a month,The Magicshine goodcflbulbs11 bicycle light was always the cheapest high power bike light available in the UK and it&rsquos just been upgraded. following a similar incident that left two Foreign Legionnaires dead.
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