World

EU To Lead Afghan Peacekeeping

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

December 14, 2001 / 7:17 AM EST / CBS

European Union leaders agreed Friday to dispatch 3,000 to 4,000 troops to join an international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan. It was, said Belgian Foreign Minister Louis Michel, "a significant precedent" for the 15-nation bloc.

Michel, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, said the Union is waiting for the United Nations to decide on a mandate for the force, but once it is formed, it will involve troops from all 15 EU countries, led by Britain.

Other, non-European nations are also expected to contribute. Canada, the Netherlands and Bangladesh are among those countries expected to be involved, and Argentina has also offered troops, diplomats said.

"This force is not there to make war, it is there to insure stability," stressed Javier Solana, the EU's foreign and security policy chief.

However, German, Austrian, French and Danish officials all denied knowledge of an agreement to send a joint EU force and suggested Michel's statement might be an attempt to put a European gloss on efforts by several member states.

"Even if we wanted to, we could not do it as we are not as far as we need to be with the (defense) structures," German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told reporters. "This is an issue that will be handled in the (U.N.) Security Council."

The U.N. Security Council is still discussing the mechanics of such a force, and a resolution authorizing its deployment was not expected to be adopted for several days.

The council cannot act until Britain formally announces that it will lead the force. A small British reconnaissance party, headed by Maj. Gen. John McColl, was to fly to Kabul this weekend to assess the mission, the Ministry of Defense said.

The British are trying to create a coalition and work out how it will interact with the U.S.-led force fighting remnants of the Taliban and hunting for accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. They also want Afghan approval for the deployment.

British U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock has said a small force could get to the capital, Kabul, by the time the interim government takes power on Dec. 22 if the Security Council adopt a resolution by the middle of next week.

The initial force could grow to about 5,000 troops, depending on what the Afghans and Brahimi recommend, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity.