KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - NATO's top military commander said Thursday that he needs more troops to fight the Taliban U.S. Gen. James L. Jones acknowledged NATO had been surprised by the "level of intensity" of Taliban attacks since the alliance took over from American-led coalition forces in the south in August.
NATO officials say current troop levels are enough to combat
Jones, speaking in Belgium after a visit to Afghanistan, said NATO needed "additional insurance in terms of some forces that can be there, perhaps temporarily, to make sure that we can carry the moment." That could take the form of helicopters, transport planes and "flexible" reserve troops able to move quickly to support NATO forces battling militants.
Jones later told reporters at the Pentagon by telephone that he was seeking roughly 2,000 to 2,500 extra NATO troops for the south. He said they would bring the NATO contribution up to 100 percent - up from 85 percent - of the force level pledged by allied governments before the southern deployment. There are now about 20,000 NATO troops in Afghanistan.
Jones said he was confident that generals from the 26 NATO nations, meeting Friday and Saturday in Warsaw, Poland, would authorize the reinforcements. "In the relatively near future, certainly before the winter, we will see this decisive moment in the region turn in favor of the troops that represent the government," he said. "It will help us to reduce casualties and bring this to a successful conclusion in a short period of time."