The 20,000 additional troops sought by US commanders for the NATO mission in Afghanistan would come from the US, with any additional increase supplied by allies, the US general who oversees the Afghan war said on Tuesday.
General David Petraeus, who is head of US Central Command, was asked at an American institute in Rome, where he gave a speech, about beefing up troops in Afghanistan.
There are more than 60,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, just over half of whom are from the US.
US troop levels are already at their highest level since the beginning of the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan to oust the Taliban government after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But US commanders are seeking 20,000 more troops to stem the violence that has engulfed parts of the country.
US president-elect Barack Obama has also called for increasing troop numbers in Afghanistan.
The increase of “somewhere around 20,000 or so” would come “on the US side,” Petraeus told his audience, which included Italian military officers and political and strategic analysts.
As for any additional contribution from other NATO countries, “if you can ask the question in Brussels, we would be very grateful to you,” the general said.
NATO, which has its headquarters in Brussels, has been trying to invigorate what is seen as flagging European support for military operations in Afghanistan.
Petraeus did not say how many additional troops he would like US allies to contribute.
He met on Tuesday night with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and yesterday had talks scheduled with Italy’s foreign minister, Franco Frattini.
Italy has 2,500 troops in NATO’s mission in Afghanistan. Frattini said last week the US should look elsewhere in Europe if it wants additional troops for Afghanistan.
No immediate news emerged regarding the Petraeus-Berlusconi meeting, but Italian Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa appeared to reinforce Frattini’s position in separate talks with the US general.
“We maintain that more forces are needed in Afghanistan, but we also maintain that Italy is among those countries already most involved,” La Russa told reporters, the Italian news agency Apcom reported.
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