STRASBOURG, France (AP) — European nations pledged Friday on the eve of NATO’s 60th anniversary summit that they would support America’s new Afghan war strategy with more civilian aid and small troop increases. President Barack Obama said Europe should not expect the U.S. to shoulder the military burden alone.
NATO leaders have been reluctant to commit significant new military forces to the deadlocked conflict despite Obama’s plan to add 21,000 U.S. troops to the force of 38,000 fighting the rising insurgency. The Europeans have focused on increasing humanitarian and development aid.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged after talks with Obama that his nation would send more police trainers and civilian aid.
“We totally endorse and support America’s new strategy in Afghanistan,” Sarkozy told a joint news conference. France will contribute to the new U.S. approach with development assistance and more training for police, Sarkozy said.
NATO’s ability to succeed in Afghanistan will be seen as a crucial test of the alliance’s power and relevance.
Sarkozy’s backing is vitally important for Obama, who will formally present his new strategy to the heads of government of NATO’s 28 member states at a dinner on Friday in the German resort town of Baden-Baden.
At the news conference, Obama described NATO as “the most successful alliance in modern history,” and said Washington wanted to see Europe develop its military capabilities.
But Obama also encouraged a skeptical Europe to support his revamped strategy for rooting out terrorism suspects in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and said Europe should not expect America to send combat troops by itself.
“This is a joint problem,” Obama said on the cusp of the NATO summit. “And it requires a joint effort.”
Sarkozy rolled out all the pomp possible for Obama’s visit, with a red carpet arrival with full military honors from a company of soldiers dressed in camouflage at the majestic 18th-century Rohan Palace, once home to the bishops of Alsace, as church bells pealed from the nearby cathedral.
Obama, who also met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the formal start of the conference, offered strong praise for France’s “outstanding leadership” in Afghanistan.
France’s envoy to Afghanistan, Pierre Lellouche, said after the meeting with Sarkozy that Obama did not ask for more military forces for Afghanistan.
Spain said ahead of the summit that it will increase the number of soldiers it has in Afghanistan with a small contingent to help train Afghan army officers. Spain has 778 troops as part of the 55,000-strong NATO presence.
Belgium said it will add some 65 soldiers to the force of 500 it already has in Afghanistan, and will send two more F-16 jet fighters, bringing the total number it has sent to six. Belgium will also double its financial aid to an annual €12 million ($14.5 million) over the next two years.
Another item that will loom large during the two-day summit is Russia. The Obama administration and NATO allies are eager to repair relations with Moscow after the freeze that followed the Russo-Georgian War in August and they are expected to approve moves to normalize relations with Moscow.
Other items on the packed agenda include starting work on a new doctrine that will define the alliance’s role and values in the 21st century and choosing a new secretary-general.
The leaders may also announce a decision on NATO’s new secretary-general, who will succeed Dutch diplomat Jaap de Hoop Scheffer whose term runs out Aug. 1.
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has emerged as the leading candidate, despite opposition from Turkey. Fogh Rasmussen infuriated many Muslims by speaking out in favor of freedom of speech during an uproar over Danish publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in 2006.
The two-day conference — co-hosted by the Rhine river cities of Strasbourg and Kehl, Germany — is the second of three major international meetings taking place in Europe this week.
Obama and the leaders of the Group of 20 nations made headway Thursday on tackling the world’s worst financial crisis since the 1930s. The U.S. president’s meeting with European Union leaders in Prague on Sunday also will focus on economic issues.
The sites of the summit straddling the French-German border were swathed in police and security cordons as demonstrators from several countries poured in with a panoply of demands from pulling out of Afghanistan to building a new and more just world economic order. Up to 65,000 protesters may rally on both sides of the border, authorities said.
During clashes on Thursday and early Friday, French police detained 107 anti-NATO demonstrators.
——Contact The Daily Reveille news staff at [email protected]