12,000 NATO troops to stay in Afghanistan

Troops to remain to prevent Afghanistan from becoming again a safe haven for terrorists

BRUSSELS: Nato will keep some 12,000 troops in Afghanistan for an extra year in 2016 to prevent the country again becoming a terrorist safe haven, alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.

Nato's Resolute Support advice and training mission was supposed to end this year but Taliban battlefield successes, especially their recent brief capture of Kunduz, prompted a radical re-think.



"Today, Nato allies and Resolute Support operational partners have agreed to sustain the Resolute Support presence ... during 2016," Stoltenberg said after alliance foreign ministers endorsed the decision. "The mission ... will continue to be kept under review and, if necessary, will be adjusted to ensure its effectiveness."

Troop numbers will be ‘12,000 approximately,’ in line with current strength, he added.



Stoltenberg said Nato had compelling reasons to complete its mission in Afghanistan with a stable government in place. "We are in Afghanistan to prevent Afghanistan becoming again a safe haven for terrorists. If Afghanistan becomes a safe haven, that will also be a threat to us."

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd,  2015.