President Obama answers questions at an April 4 press conference in Strasbourg, France.

06 April 2009

NATO Renews Commitment to Afghanistan’s Future, April 4, 2009

( President Obama answers questions at an April 4 press conference in Strasbourg, France.By David McKeeby)
Staff Writer

Washington — The 28-nation NATO alliance celebrated its 60th anniversary by pledging renewed resolve in its mission to help Afghanistan root out terrorist safe havens and to balance collective defense with emerging security challenges.

“For years, our efforts in Afghanistan have lacked the resources needed to achieve our goals,” President Obama told reporters in Strasbourg, France, April 4. “Commitments of troops, trainers and civilians represent a strong down payment on the future of our mission in Afghanistan and on the future of NATO.”

Obama presented America’s trans-Atlantic allies with his administration’s comprehensive new international strategy for securing the region, which was formulated through several weeks of intensive consultations with the Afghan and Pakistani governments, as well as leaders from the U.N.-mandated, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

“The United States has recommitted itself to a clear and focused goal — to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the future,” Obama said. “This effort cannot be America's alone. All of NATO understands that al-Qaida is a threat to all of us, and that this collective security effort must achieve its goals.”

Allies strongly endorsed the plan, pledging 5,000 additional troops to the 42-nation, 58,000-strong ISAF peacekeeping mission.

Approximately 3,000 troops from Britain, Germany, Spain and other European nations will join 17,000 U.S. soldiers and Marines deployed by Obama earlier in the year to improve security ahead of Afghanistan’s elections in August. Remaining forces will be tasked with accelerating training and mentoring Afghanistan’s army and police forces under the new NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan.

But success in Afghanistan will take more than military forces, Obama said, welcoming $500 million in new European humanitarian aid contributions and pledges to increase support for civilian missions working with the United Nations and international aid organizations to strengthen governing institutions, expand economic opportunities for communities in Afghanistan and broaden NATO’s relationship with neighboring Pakistan. (See “New Afghan-Pakistan Plan a Comprehensive Strategy, Obama Says.”)

“We want to bring all of our diplomatic and development skills to bear on strengthening Pakistan in part because they have to have the capacity to take on al-Qaida within their borders, but also because to the extent that we strengthen Pakistan's ability to deliver goods and services and a better life for its people, then the less the contagion of extremism in that country or in the region is likely to spread,” Obama said.

An Italian medic from the NATO peacekeeping force delivers care at a clinic in Herat province, Afghanistan.SUMMIT SHOWCASES REINVIGORATED ALLIANCE

In a closing communiqué, alliance members expressed shared commitment to confronting a host of emerging challenges, from terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to cyber-attacks, environmental degradation, energy disruptions and the complex security consequences posed by failed states and economic crises.

“While we celebrate NATO's achievements, we can't rest upon them,” Obama said. “To meet these dangers, the alliance must renew and reform itself once more.”

The allies also issued a “Declaration of Alliance Security” — a first step toward balancing NATO’s collective defense responsibilities with the need to modernize and transform its mission to meet new security challenges. In doing so, the document will serve as the first step toward reviewing and updating the trans-Atlantic alliance’s “Strategic Concept,” which has not seen major revisions since 1999.

Obama welcomed France’s full return to integrated military command structure as a sign of renewed European commitment to the alliance. He also welcomed the arrival of two new NATO members, Albania and Croatia, and expressed hope that Macedonia’s accession could be completed once it resolved an ongoing diplomatic dispute with NATO member Greece.

“We are proud to have you as allies,” Obama said. “The Atlantic Alliance is 60 years old and it's a measure of our vitality that we are still welcoming new members.”

Obama praised Albania and Croatia’s contributions to the alliance’s mission in Afghanistan, and said that the door to future NATO membership should remain open to other countries able to meet the alliance’s performance-based membership standards and make a positive contribution to collective security. Allies also agreed to renew their commitment to building “pragmatic cooperation” with Russia on a host of shared security challenges, from counterterrorism and nuclear proliferation to stabilizing Afghanistan and conducting international naval patrols discouraging piracy off the coast of Somalia.

America and its allies also welcomed a new NATO secretary-general, former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, following Obama’s last-minute negotiations to secure support from Turkey. Turkey’s support led to an alliance consensus on the appointment to replace outgoing Dutch NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

“I think that our president really was instrumental in ... finding this common ground,” said Obama’s national security adviser, General James Jones. “As a result, the alliance has a new secretary-general, elected unanimously.”

The text of the summit communiqué, NATO’s Declaration on Alliance Security and a White House fact sheet on the summit are available from America.gov.