http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B670Q20101207
Foreign troop commitments in Afghanistan Tue, Dec 7 2010 (Reuters) - British troops could start withdrawing from Afghanistan as early as 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron has said on an unannounced visit to the country. NATO leaders agreed at a summit in Lisbon last month to begin transferring security responsibility in some areas to Afghans from mid-2011 and hand over control of the whole country by the end of 2014, allowing foreign troops to withdraw. Here are some facts about troop commitments from the main contributing nations in Afghanistan: (For a full list, see: here <http://www.isaf.nato.int/troop-numbers-and-contributions/index.php> ) * THE UNITED STATES - The United States has by far the most troops in Afghanistan, its force of 95,000 three times as large as it was when President Barack Obama took office in January 2009. Some of those extra troops were sent by former President George W. Bush; 22,000 were sent by Obama in his first months in office. In December 2009, the Democratic president ordered an additional 30,000 troops, the last of whom arrived over the summer. While Washington has said it hopes to begin drawing down its force starting in July 2011, details of that drawdown have not yet been announced. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has suggested the pace of any reduction may not be entirely decided until shortly before it begins. Opponents of the 2011 date, mainly among rival Republicans, say it has emboldened militants. While U.S. public support for the war has steadily waned, a Reuters/Ipsos poll in October found that Americans rated Afghanistan bottom of a list of seven issues that the U.S. Congress should deal with in 2011. The war, which as of mid-2010 had racked up at least $345 billion in costs for U.S. taxpayers, is another strain as the Obama administration struggles to turn around a faltering economy. With at least 1,417 troops killed since the war started in 2001, the United States has also suffered the most casualties among the NATO members in Afghanistan. * BRITAIN - Britain has the second-biggest foreign troop contingent in Afghanistan with around 9,500 troops, the bulk of which are based in southern Helmand province, one of the most violent areas in the country and a Taliban stronghold. Cameron has said British troops could start withdrawing as early as 2011 and that he wants British combat troops out of Afghanistan in five years. Cameron has suggested, however, 1,000 British trainers could stay beyond 2015. The war is becoming increasingly unpopular in Britain, especially after a spike in casualties this summer. Since 2001, more than 345 British troops have been killed. British troops have been slowly handing over some of the most violent areas in Helmand to the Americans as they consolidate numbers in the center of the province. This has led to a drop in British troop deaths in recent months and might make the war easier for the British public to stomach. * GERMANY - Germany is the third-largest troop contributor with around 4,600 troops based in the north, which has seen a spike in violence over the past year. The war, which faces wide opposition among Germans, has already brought down the chief of the armed forces, a minister and the president. Lawmakers in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government say significant steps will have to be taken toward bringing troops home before the next federal election in 2013. At least 45 German troops have been killed in Afghanistan since 2001. * FRANCE - France has around 3,500 troops in Afghanistan and the country's newly appointed defense minister, Alain Juppe, said last month the war was a "trap for all the parties involved there". Juppe's remark added weight to expectations France will start bringing troops home next year and withdraw from the country entirely ahead of a 2012 presidential election. At least 50 French troops have been killed since 2001. * ITALY - Italy has more than 3,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, mainly based in the less violent west of the country. Italy's foreign minister has said Rome could start withdrawing troops from next summer, with the aim of pulling all soldiers out by 2014. Public opposition to the war came to a head in October when insurgents killed four Italian soldiers. More than 30 Italian troops have been killed since 2001. * CANADA - Canada has 2,900 troops based in southern Kandahar province, where they have been involved in heavy fighting over the past few years. More than 150 troops have been killed and polls show the majority of Canadians oppose the mission. Canada said it will be ending its military mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2011 but Prime Minister Stephen Harper said last month several hundred troops will stay behind as trainers. * POLAND - Poland has 2,600 troops deployed in Afghanistan and faces growing public opposition to the war. More than 20 Polish soldiers have been killed since 2001. In June, Warsaw said it would bring troops home by 2012 regardless of what other countries decided, prompting NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to urge Poland to "finish the job". * THE NETHERLANDS - The Netherlands became the first NATO ally to formally end its military mission in Afghanistan and started withdrawing its 2,000 troops in August. The move came after the previous government collapsed in February after failing to agree on whether to extend its four-year mission. Nearly 25 Dutch soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who took office in October, has said he wants to set up a new training mission in Afghanistan. However, a poll showed most Dutch voters are opposed to sending troops back to Afghanistan. * OTHER NATIONS - A total of 48 nations -- most of them NATO members -- make up the foreign coalition in Afghanistan, known as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Other countries contribute anything from three soldiers, like Austria, to Turkey, which has around 1,800. Public support for the war in those countries has also declined in recent years, especially in those which have suffered high troop deaths. Denmark, which has only around 750 troops in the country, has had nearly 40 troops killed since 2001. While some smaller nations have pledged to nominally boost troop commitments, most governments are under public pressure to find a way out. (Reporting by Jonathon Burch <http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=jonathon.burch&; > in Kabul; additional reporting by Missy Ryan in Washington; editing by Miral Fahmy <http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=miral.fahmy&;> and Mohammad Zargham) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [email protected]. -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [email protected] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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