NATO should send "thousands" more troops to Afghanistan to train army and police, the US told allies at a summit Friday - signalling that meeting generals' requests for more combat troops was not enough to defeat the Taliban-led insurgency, according to dpa. "More trainers are needed, and needed immediately. I pressed the alliance to meet the long-standing demand for thousands more instructors and mentors for the Afghan army and police," US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said at the end of a two-day meeting with NATO counterparts. With 30,000 soldiers pledged by the United States and more than 9,000 coming from other allies over the course of 2010, NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) is set on receiving almost all the extra 40,000 men its commander Stanley McChrystal asked for, bringing total numbers to over 110,000. But on Friday NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen pointed out that allies still need to find 21 more army training teams, known as OMLeTs, and over 119 police training teams, or POMLeTs, in order to bring the Afghan forces up to current requirements. "We will need more, a lot more," he said, saying he urged nations "to dig deep and look at what they can do to staff the training mission, either from within their current contributions or, if necessary, by sending more." Training local army and police is considered essential to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan institution, which in turn will allow international soldiers leave the country from mid-2011 onwards. Estimates on shortfalls estimate from 2,000 to 4,000, due OMLeTs and POMLeTs' variable size. But even bigger numbers would be required to increase the Afghan security forces to a total of 305,000 men by the autumn of 2011 - a target agreed by the international community in January at a London summit. NATO countries struggled so far to recruit personnel as conditions in Afghanistan are dangerous. But Rasmussen said 1,300 institutional trainers are needed, who "would conduct their activities in a very safe environment." To encourage contributions, Gates pledged to give allies equipment to protect soldiers against Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) - by far the biggest killers of ISAF troops in Afghanistan. Rasmussen also accompanied his request with an acknowledgement of efforts made so far. "Before you write the story that NATO continues to ask for more, let me say (...) we have, in general, the combat forces we need. That is a real achievement. It also testifies to NATO solidarity, commitment and capability," he stated. Discussions on Afghanistan took place Friday under a mood of cautious optimism, as US and British forces are preparing a major offensive in the Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold in the south of the country.
