Top NATO official confident of "light over horizon" in Afghanistan

Jan 27, 2010, 15:34 GMT

Brussels - International soldiers posted in Afghanistan will begin to eye victory by the end of 2010, NATO's top military officer said on Wednesday on the eve of a key London conference on the stabilization of the country.

Italian Admiral Giampaolo Di Paola, head of NATO's military committee, spoke after meeting with chiefs of staff from 44 nations involved in the alliance-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to Afghanistan.

'We will see at end of this year the light over the horizon,' Di Paola said in a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The admiral backed his optimism stating that the new strategy proposed in August by ISAF's commander, US General Stanley McChrystal, was 'unanimously, enthusiastically and unequivocally supported' by all participants in the meeting.

He stressed that a presentation by Pakistan's chief of staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani was 'incredibly in tune' with ISAF's plans, while his Russian counterpart, General Nikolai Makarov, told NATO on Tuesday that 'Russia has an even greater interest than any other ally in the successful outcome in Afghanistan.'

'There was a feeling in the room that we are getting it right,' Di Paola insisted. 'The mood has changed, the tide has changed, we will succeed and we are convinced we will succeed,' he added.

McChrystal's strategy calls for ISAF forces to put more effort into defending Afghan civilians, and for reinforced efforts to train the country's security forces, improve its economy, fight corruption and encourage lower-ranking militants to return to civilian life.

Pakistan currently provides the main transit route to supply ISAF troups, but NATO is looking for other, more secure channels. Russia pledged to let NATO non-lethal equipment through its territory, and Kazakhstan agreed on Wednesday to open a corridor for the alliance.

But after renewing military ties with Moscow on Tuesday, ending a spat provoked by 2008's war in Georgia, the alliance hopes that Russia will do even more to help.

As well as by letting more supplies through, diplomats say Moscow could contribute by helping repair Soviet-era military hardware that is still used in Kabul, providing air-lift support and possibly by training Afghan army and police on its territory.

Only a direct Russian military involvement is firmly ruled out, given the bruising precedent of the Soviet Army's withdrawal from Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Di Paola indicated that Russia's and the alliance's generals are set to 'concretise' joint initiatives at their next meeting in May, when 'a working plan' on cooperation will be submitted for discussion.

ISAF currently counts some 84,000 troops from all 28 NATO nations and 15 allied states such as Australia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. South Korea is expected to join later in the year.

The alliance is set to send almost 40,000 extra soldiers over the course of 2010 as part of a renewed effort to win the war there, with latest reinforcements coming from Germany, Slovakia and Romania.

On Thursday, the foreign ministers and top diplomats of 65 countries, including NATO's members, are to meet in London to discuss how they can help strengthen the Afghan government and armed forces so that they can defeat the Taliban-led insurgency and stabilize the country.