France's defense minister on Thursday ruled out sending more troops to Afghanistan, saying that French forces were already engaged elsewhere. Speaking on RFI radio, Michele Alliot-Marie said France was not in a position to respond to a recent NATO request for 2,500 troops to augment forces in Afghanistan. «Let us not forget that we are present on a very large number of external fronts,» Alliot-Marie said. «I think that other countries that are perhaps less engaged have the possibility of participating in this reinforcement,» he was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.
