Chicago (AsiaNews
/ Agencies) - The NATO countries, meeting in Chicago yesterday, are examining
the possibility of leaving Afghanistan as soon as possible. In
particular, European countries, marked by economic crisis and a public opinion
against the war, want to close the military engagement in Afghanistan, which
began in November 2001 with the ouster of the Taliban regime. But
after 11 years, the Taliban remain in force in many parts of the country. Earlier
this month they carried out attacks on several embassies in the most protected
area of Kabul, inaugurating what they call the "spring offensive". In
2011 alone there were more than 3 thousand deaths, mostly the result of Taliban
violence.
The
new French president François Hollande is insisting that the French troops will
be withdrawn from Afghanistan by the end of this year, almost two years ahead
of schedule. NATO
has in fact established 2014 as the date for handing over security operations to
Afghan forces.
NATO
secretary general, Fogh Rasmussen is trying to reassure allies, saying that now
the war in Afghanistan has to end, but must also ensure that the Afghans will
not be left alone even after 2014. For
this reason funding needs to be found to the tune of around 4 billion U.S.
dollars annually. The
United States is ready to take on more than half of the costs, but President
Barack Obama is asking allies to pay 1.3 billion; Afghanistan should contribute
500 million dollars.
The
Chicago summit is attended by more than 50 leaders, many from the 28 NATO nations,
along with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali
Zardari.
According
to the U.S., Pakistan's cooperation is needed to isolate the Taliban and to
reopen the supply lines, closed last November after a U.S. airstrike that
killed Pakistani soldiers.
At
today's discussion there is also a plan to implement a system of defense
against possible missile attacks from Iran. The
plan envisages the deployment of U.S. warships in the Mediterranean and a radar
system based in Turkey.