Delays by European members of NATO in the struggle against the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan is risking the lives of alliance troops there, NATO chief General John Craddock said Tuesday. Afghanistan and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are at a “critical juncture,” Craddock said at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Ahead of NATO's summit next month in Romania, Craddock complained about restrictions placed by some governments on their forces' operations in Afghanistan. “These caveats, like shortfalls, increase the risk to every soldier, sailor, airman, and Marine deployed in theater,” he said. “NATO's level of ambition has exceeded its political will to support,” Craddock said, citing weak coalition governments in Europe as one impediment on ISAF deployments. The U.S. government, which is deploying an additional 3,200 Marines to Afghanistan, has criticized countries including Germany, Italy, France, and Spain for not doing more to fight the Taliban and al Qaida on the Pakistan border. ISAF commanders in Afghanistan want 7,500 additional soldiers to be deployed in southern Afghanistan, along with support helicopters and intelligence resources. NATO-led ISAF comprises over 47,000 troops from 40 countries, including 19,000 from the United States, Craddock said. Berlin last month agreed to a NATO request to deploy a rapid-reaction force in northern Afghanistan but again ruled out a combat role in the south, where U.S., Canadian, and British troops have been fighting the Taliban. Canada has threatened to withdraw its 2,500 troops from Afghanistan if NATO fails to send reinforcements to the south. Last week, U.S. officials welcomed a “long-term commitment” to Afghanistan made by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. “It is clear that the French are thinking through their contributions in Afghanistan,” Daniel Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European affairs, told the Senate hearing. Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (Democrat from Delaware) demanded that U.S. allies do more in Afghanistan. “It is my belief that the future of NATO is at stake in Afghanistan, as well as the future of Afghanistan,” he said.
