NATO To Increase Troops In Afghanistan

[Aaron]

CBC

ISTANBUL - NATO has agreed to send about 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, where regional warlords and the resurgence of the Muslim fundamentalist Taliban are threatening to disrupt a fall election.

The additional troops will help the UN's International Stabilization Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) to deploy forces in four northern Afghan cities.
NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Tuesday gave no information about which countries would provide the additional troops.

Speaking at the conclusion of the NATO meeting in Turkey, he said details of the reinforcement still had "to be worked out."

The Canadian-led ISAF force has about 6,500 soldiers from over 30 countries. Canada itself contributes about one-third of the force's troops.

To date, ISAF's deployment – and the power of the national government led by president Hamid Karzai – does not extend much beyond the capital Kabul.

Many of the 20,000 U.S. troops in the country are preoccupied with chasing down suspected al-Qaeda militants still operating in the more remote regions of the mountainous country.

I didn't know that it was Canada's turn to lead ISAF. Makes me proud. Incedently most of my friends just finished a tour over there. From what I understand it is a shitty,shitty tour.