Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen admitted that the alliance had failed to grasp fully the dangers and obstacles facing it in Afghanistan, in an interview released Friday. "Perhaps in the past we underestimated the challenges in Afghanistan," Rasmussen told German news weekly Der Spiegel.
He said the war in the strife-ravaged country had entered "a new phase" and predicted that as Nato beefed up its International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), it would make more headway in the fight against Taliban insurgents. Rasmussen said European member countries had pledged at least 7,000 more troops to back the new US-led drive against the Taliban and al Qaeda and forecast Germany would also boost its contingent.
"The German government will take the right decision," he said. Rasmussen said he was also optimistic about deepening co-operation with Russia in Afghanistan since Moscow agreed to open up a transit route. "The Russians could also get involved in training and equipping the Afghan army," he said, on the heels of a visit to Moscow this week when he called on the government to supply more helicopters for Afghanistan. Nato would not remain in Afghanistan "for an eternity," he stressed.
"But we will remain there until our job is done," he said. Rasmussen said the alliance would turn over responsibility to Afghan security forces next year "district by district". But he said Kabul had to live up to its pledges to fight rampant corruption to earn the trust of its people. "If the Afghan government is to take over more responsibilities in the country then it has to show what it can do, at least better than the Taliban," he said.
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