Joel Fitzgibbon, Australia’s Defence Minister, has referred to the imminent NATO summit in Romania as a significant test of the will of overseas nations to commit the supply of more troops to Afghanistan.

Australia currently has more troops deployed in Afghanistan than any other non-NATO country – with around 1,000 stationed there. Fitzgibbon, however, has shown his dissatisfaction with the progress achieved in Afghanistan since US forces dethroned the Taliban over six years ago.

Both Fitzgibbon and Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Prime Minister, will be present at the NATO summit, which will be held in Bucharest between the 2^nd and 4^th April. While there, they will press Europe to supply more troop support to the conflict, whilst also urging NATO to refine its Afghan strategy.

"It's a watershed meeting”, Fitzgibbon told news agency Reuters.

“It will determine the strength of will of so many of the participating nations.”

French President’s Soldier Pledge

Fitzgibbon’s comments coincided with the pledge made by French President Nicholas Sarkozy – currently on his first state visit to Britain – to send more French soldiers to Afghanistan.

NATO’s ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) is presently comprised of around 43,000 NATO troops. The majority of the fighting in Afghanistan involves British, Dutch, Canadian and US forces.

Australia’s Afghan troop deployment is working in tandem with Dutch soldiers in the province of Uruzgan. It includes special forces tasked with locating the Taliban, and those involved in reconstruction efforts.

Australia Seeking More NATO Troops

The country, said Fitzgibbon, is in for the long haul when it comes to Afghanistan, but on the proviso that more NATO troops are sent there, and that NATO itself formulate a more effective plan.

"Our commitment is solid”, he said.  

“We intend to be there for the long term. But it can't be absolutely unconditional."

He added: "We need a significantly greater number of people there than we have.

“It's about certain NATO countries lifting the caveats which both restrict where they go, and are a quite restrictive in terms of their rules of engagement."

Source – Armed Forces International’s Australasian Correspondent

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