Spain ready to boost Afghan force

PARIS (AFP) - Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said that Spain's 780-strong force fighting under NATO colours in Afghanistan could be boosted by extra troops, in an interview published Thursday.
Speaking to the International Herald Tribune, Zapatero said some or all of a 450-strong contingent sent to bolster the Spanish detachment in the run up to next months Afghan elections could stay on afterwards to maintain security.

"We've always been willing to provide additional troops in order to support elections, as we are doing currently," Zapatero told the Paris-based daily. "And if there is the need to sustain a greater number of presences in Afghanistan, we are willing to do so," he added, without going into detail about how many or what kind of troops were on offer.

"I think they are working in an area where their contribution is positively acknowledged, and we will be willing to sustain our efforts in the future if so required," he added. The announcement appears to be a concession from the Spanish Socialist to US President Barack Obama, as Spain under Zapatero's leadership has thus far been a reluctant contributor to Western military missions.

Zapatero was elected on a promise to pull Spain out of the US-led coalition in Iraq, and in March annoyed both NATO and the United States by announcing the withdrawal of its 630 troops from the peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Nevertheless, Madrid has maintained a contingent in Afghanistan since 2002, part of what is now the 62,000-strong, 42 nation NATO-led International Security Assistance Force supporting the beleaguered Afghan government. In April, the Spanish newspaper El Pais said Spain's contribution would be strengthened to more than 1,000 personnel.

At April's NATO summit in Strasbourg, Obama tried to persuade his European allies to do more to support the mission, in which American, British, Canadian, Dutch and Danish troops have shouldered the bulk of the fighting. His efforts were partly rebuffed, however, with most countries offering only minor force increases, in many cases limited to the electoral period.

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