France to step up Afghan commitment
France to step up Afghan commitment
Peter O'Neil, CanWest Europe Bureau, CanWest News Service Published: Thursday, November 15, 2007
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PARIS -- France is looking to step up its efforts in Afghanistan, but will likely stop short of any major commitment to replace Canada's troops in Kandahar, an official said here Thursday.
There has been some speculation in the Canadian media suggesting that France might provide relief for countries like Canada, which must decide what role it will play after its current commitment is met in early 2009.
But Frederic Desagneaux, deputy spokesman for French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, sought to lower expectations that the French might relieve the Canadians.
"I wouldn't go as far as that," he told CanWest News Service on the eve of today's meeting here between Mr. Kouchner and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier.
He said France, following through on President Nicolas Sarkozy's commitment to remain fully committed Afghanistan, has already taken steps to increase its involvement.
The French military has moved six Mirage fighter jets to Kandahar to support NATO troops. It has also expanded efforts to train Afghanistan's military.
"So our effort is increasing," he said. "We are really eager to contribute as much as we can to the comprehensive efforts by NATO in the context of Operation Enduring Freedom."
Canada has been pressuring allies such as Germany and France, which have troops in relatively peaceful areas such as Kabul, to share more of the heavy -- and dangerous -- load in southern Afghanistan.
France currently has roughly 2,000 soldiers in Afghanistan on security and reconstruction missions, most placed in and around relatively safe Kabul.
But the French government is sensitive to the criticism and has privately noted that France -- with roughly double Canada's population -- is doing more than its share globally with an estimated 10,500 troops on NATO- and European Union-mandated missions in the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa.
"Our effort is increasing; we are really eager to contribute as much as we can to the comprehensive efforts by NATO in the context of the Operation Enduring Freedom."
But Mr. Desagneaux balked when asked if France would consider, for instance, moving its troops from Kabul to Taliban-infested Kandahar in the country's south.
"You must consider that France is also heavily or very actively engaged on overseas fields," he said.
"We are reinforcing our presence in Afghanistan, we are open to many new possibilities. But it must be considered against this general context of the French military engagements overseas, which are very, very broad."
Mr. Desagneaux said the two ministers will discuss international hotspots such as Iran, Pakistan, Darfur, Myanmar and the Middle East. Bilateral issues on the table include celebrations next year to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City.
Mr. Kouchner, co-founder of the international aid group Doctors Without Borders, was a Socialist party supporter in the 2007 French presidential elections.
But he was recruited by the right-of-centre Mr. Sarkozy as part of a broader attempt to broaden the new government's coalition and public appeal.
Mr. Kouchner has been controversial as foreign minister, using the word "war" while discussing options to deal with Iran.
We will negotiate until the end. And at the same time we must prepare ourselves ... for the worst," he said.
"The worst, it's war ..."