10 March 2009

NATO Allies Share Vital Interest in Stabilizing Afghanistan

Trans-Atlantic advice essential to shaping new South Asia strategy

Vice President Biden at NATO headquarters in Brussels, March 10.

By David McKeeby
Staff Writer

Washington – America and its NATO allies share “a vital security interest” in forging a common, comprehensive approach to stabilizing Afghanistan, says Vice President Biden.

“The deteriorating situation in the region poses a security threat, from our perspective not just to the United States, but to every single nation around this table,” Biden told members of the North Atlantic Council, the 26-nation alliance’s principal body, March 10. “It was from that remote area of the world that Al-Qaida plotted 9/11. It was from that very same area that extremists planned virtually every major terrorist attack in Europe since 9/11, including the attacks on London and Madrid.”

Immediately following the September 2001 attacks, NATO acted under Article V of its founding treaty, which holds that an attack on any of its member states will be considered an attack against them all. Today, the trans-Atlantic alliance leads the 41-nation, 55,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, supporting international peacekeeping and development efforts in the struggling South Asian nation.  

Biden’s visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, is the latest step in the Obama administration’s effort to consult closely with allies and partners worldwide as the White House formulates a strategy to help Afghans take back their country from extremists, eliminate terrorist safe havens, and emerge from decades of war and poverty.

“We’re here to consult. We’re here to listen. We’re here to come up with a joint strategy,” Biden said. “Once that is arrived at, we, the United States, expect everyone to keep whatever commitments were made in arriving at that joint strategy.”

Building consensus on shared challenges is more than a cornerstone of Obama’s approach to foreign policy, Biden said. It is also the secret to how NATO has successfully transformed itself to meet emerging security challenges of the 21st century.

Members of the 41-nation, NATO-led peacekeeping mission in Kabul, Afghanistan.

“There is no ambivalence on the part of our administration about the value and necessity of a strong, coherent NATO,” Biden said. “We know that our alliance works best when we’ve listened to each other.” (See “Biden Seeks European Perspectives on Afghan-Pakistan Strategy.”)    

While more troops are needed to boost security ahead of Afghan elections later in the year, there is no purely military solution to the troubles facing the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, Biden said. Stepped-up diplomacy and development efforts will be essential on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border, he said, as well as additional U.S. and European military and police trainers.

“Our goal is not to stay in Afghanistan, it’s to be able to leave, and to leave behind Afghan forces that can provide for the security and safety of the people of Afghanistan,” Biden said.

Expanded diplomacy may also mean supporting the Afghan government’s efforts to pursue political reconciliation with some Taliban-allied militant groups that may be willing to lay down their arms and return to civilian life, Biden said.

Regional experts estimate that only 5 percent of militants are “incorrigible,” Biden said, while up to 70 percent of gunmen are motivated primarily by Taliban payments to target ISAF forces and Afghan civilians. “I do think it is worth engaging and determining whether or not there are those who are willing to participate in a secure and stable Afghan state.” (See “Top U.S. Commander Considers Road Ahead in Afghanistan.”)  

While in Brussels, Biden will hold further consultations with top European Union officials, as well as representatives from non-NATO countries who have contributed forces to ISAF. “We will build their ideas into our review,” Biden said.

The White House expects to complete its Afghan policy review before Obama travels to Europe in April for the NATO 60th Anniversary Summit, hosted by France and Germany.

A transcript of Biden’s remarks is available from America.gov.

What actions do you think President Obama should take to promote security and development in Afghanistan? Comment on America.gov’s blog?