The past few weeks have seen the United States of America get into an unpleasant diplomatic tangle with its European allies over the issue of troops contribution in Afghanistan. Last week’s NATO summit in Lithuania was overshadowed by a possible split in the military alliance over the issue. But US defense secretary Robert Gates continues to stress on the fact that a NATO failure in Afghanistan would pave the way for a spread of Islamic radicalism not only in the Middle East but across Europe. Secretary Gates, present in an international security conference being held in the southern German city of Munich, told delegates that Europe should continue the fight against Islamic terrorists in Asia to have a better future as far as security is concerned.
Citing recent radical Islamic terrorist atacks and plots across Europe, Robert Gates said,
I am concerned that many people on this continent may not comprehend the magnitude of the direct threat to European security. Imagine if Islamic terrorists had managed to strike your capitals on the same scale as they struck in New York.
As the Pentagon chief tries his level best to make Europe contribute more in the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan, there is no denying the fact that the lingering anger in the continent over Washington’s invasion of Iraq is the prime reason why European allies are reluctant to send more combat troops in the war-ravaged southern Afghanistan.
The European public opinion is very much against any troop contribution in Afghanistan or Iraq and Secretary Gates’ speech was directed to all Europeans rather than any single country. Analysts believe that Robert Gates is trying to differentiate Iraq and Afghanistan to the Europeans. The Iraq war is immensely unpopular in Europe but people tend to combine both Iraq and Afghanistan based on a simple fact that they believe the wars are America’s more than Europe’s. Yet Washington thinks that all the problems are stemming from a volatile Afghanistan and any failure to make it a democratic state would make Europe and the rest of the world vulnerable to a radical Islamic tide.
A London-based thinktank, the International Institute for Strategic Studies(IISS)has warned that Afghanistan would become a failed state if NATO operations fail to eradicate the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Many European countries like Germany, Spain and Italy want their troops to be involved in humanitarian and development work in Afghanistan rather than full combat and here lies the bone of contention with the US. Washington has used some tough words to describe the attitude of some NATO allies regarding Afghanistan which have not gone down well in many capitals. Yet Robert Gates’ tough military diplomacy seems to be working with France agreeing to send a combat force to help Canada fight a bloody battle against insurgents in southern Afghanistan.
Source: LA Times
