Clinton says allies can help turn the Afghan tide

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Clinton says allies can help turn the Afghan tide
By ROBERT BURNS
AP National Security Writer
Dec 4, 8:18 AM EST

BRUSSELS (AP) -- Some two dozen countries will send an estimated 7,000 more troops to Afghanistan next year, the chief of NATO said Friday as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told her allied counterparts that an infusion of forces is crucial to turning the tide in the long war.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen of Denmark told reporters at NATO headquarters that at least 25 nations would provide the additional forces in Afghanistan in 2010, "with more to come." And he said the 44 countries now involved are "absolutely united" in their commitment to seeing the eight-year war through to a successful outcome.

"The strongest message in the room today was solidarity," he said. "Nations are backing up their words with deeds."

U.S. Navy Adm. James Stavridis, the top NATO and U.S. commander in Europe, said in an Associated Press interview during a break in the talks that he believes several thousand non-U.S. troops may be contributed next year, in addition to the 7,000 cited by Fogh Rasmussen.

"What we are all underlining to potential troop contributors is that we are truly asking for emphasis in the training area," Stavridis said. "And what I'm hearing is that we'll get very good responses."


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