Bush Urges NATO Allies To Lift Afghan Deployment Restrictions

NATO commands more than 30,000 ISAF troops in Afghanistan (file photo) (epa) November 28, 2006 -- U.S. President George W. Bush today urged NATO members to lift restrictions on their country's troop deployments in Afghanistan.

Speaking ahead of a NATO summit in Riga, Bush said that for NATO to succeed in Afghanistan, its ommanders must
have the resources to do their jobs. NATO nations have imposed a range of restrictions on their forces serving in Afghanistan.


Germany, for example, insists on keeping its 2,700 troops in more peaceful northern Afghanistan.


NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan comprises more than 30,000 troops from more than 30 countries.


NATO invoked its collective-defense clause for the first time in its history following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, leading to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan and the ouster of the hard-line Taliban regime that was harboring Osama bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda terror network.


(compiled from agency reports)