MADRID, Feb 3: Afghanistan will become an exporter of terrorists if the Nato mission in the country fails, said organisation’s Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Saturday, stressing that the country needs a ‘global’ and ‘civil’ response rather than a ‘military’ one.
“We are in Afghanistan to fight the faceless threat that wants to destroy our society,” Mr Scheffer said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo, days before a Nato summit in Seville.
“If we fail in Afghanistan, the country will collapse and become a state that will export terrorists to the West.”
Around 33,000 soldiers from 37 countries currently contribute to the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in the troubled country, with an additional US-led taskforce of up to 10,000.
Speaking before the summit that will look at the question of military reinforcement, Mr Scheffer said a ‘global’ and
‘civil’ response rather than a ‘military’ one was needed in Afghanistan.
If in Seville “we think we need reinforcements then we will ask all the allies here,” he said, adding that Spain had just announced it was sending 500 more troops to Afghanistan.
“Last year was difficult but the US and Britain announced essential increases and other countries are in the process of increasing their contributions,” he said.
Last week, Nato's foreign affairs ministers met in Brussels where US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice presented a new $10.6 billion aid package
for Afghanistan's infrastructure, and promised to keep US
