NATO set for Afghanistan

Preparations are on track and continuing for the take over on Monday, 11 August, by NATO of the command of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, ISAF.

The first NATO troops already arrived in Kabul in early July and have been working there since to prepare the mission headquarters.
NATO agreed on 16 April 2003 to significantly expand NATO s support to ISAF. The Alliance will be responsible for the planning and command of the peacekeeping force. This includes providing a force commander and headquarters.

Same mandate, continuity of presence

Neither ISAF s name nor mission will change. The operation will continue to work under the United Nations mandate and the ISAF banner, and the Alliance will continue to welcome non-NATO contributors.

What will happen is that there will be a continuation and that will be able to deliver much more sustainable presence in Kabul, without an endless rotation of lead nations every six months, said NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson in a video interview for the NATO Web site.

Up to now every six months a volunteer nation took over command of the operation, establishing new command and control mechanisms. Now NATO will provide continuous command, coordination and planning with a headquarters on the ground in Kabul.

Commitment to success

Lord Robertson points out that NATO is committed to a sustained engagement and the success of the operation.

NATO does not take on operations to fail. NATO has to succeed and we re determined to succeed, he said, So the sooner we re not necessary in Afghanistan, the better it will be, but we are now part and parcel of the future of Afghanistan and we want to make ourselves redundant.

Transformation in action

This will be the first operation outside Europe in the Alliance s 54-year history, and reflects NATO s current transformation to take on new missions in new areas.

The operation will be conducted under the overall command of the Allied Command Operations and will be run by NATO s regional headquarters Northern Europe.