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Australian Associated Press February 3, 2010 Faulkner to attend NATO conference Defence Minister John Faulkner will discuss the war in Afghanistan when he attends the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) defence ministers's meeting in Istanbul this week. Senator Faulkner, accompanied by defence head Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, will also participate in a meeting of defence ministers from the countries with troops operating in Regional Command (South), which covers the dangerous provinces of Oruzgan, Helmand, Kandahar and Zabul. He said this was the first opportunity for ISAF defence ministers to convene since United States President Barack Obama announced his revised strategy for the campaign in Afghanistan. "The meeting also provides an opportunity to build on the recent London conference on Afghanistan," he said in a statement on Wednesday. Senator Faulkner said the NATO defence minister's meeting was held twice a year and provided an opportunity to discuss the international effort in Afghanistan including the development of the Afghan forces and the co-ordination of civil and military activities. "Attending these meetings gives Australia the opportunity to meet with representatives of the Afghan Government, Coalition allies, and participate in strategic discussions about the conflict in Afghanistan," he said. "Australia is one of a coalition of over 40 countries under United Nations mandate working under NATO command. Australia is by far the largest non-NATO contributor of forces in Afghanistan." Australia now has some 1550 troops in Afghanistan, most in Oruzgan province engaged in training the Afghan National Army (ANA) so it can eventually take full security responsibility. =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: rwroz...@yahoo.com or stopnato-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Daily digest option available. ============================== --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: arch...@mail-archive.com EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bNM5nn.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: antinato-unsubscr...@topica.com For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit: http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER --^----------------------------------------------------------------
