Hans Rustad USA er bekymret for sviktende oppslutning om militær deltakelse i Afghanistan blant europeiske allierte, spesielt Italia og Tyskland. I Tyskland er et flertall for tilbaketrekning, og regjeringen i Italia er politisk ikke på bølgelengde med Washington.
«Italy and Germany are the ones that are of serious concern,» the official added, citing Italy as «one that we are really concerned about.»
With 2,500 troops, Italy heads NATO’s Herat-based regional command in western Afghanistan.
Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema recently blamed a lack of coordination between US and ISAF forces for hundreds of Afghan civilian deaths, which he called «morally unacceptable.»
«The Italians can be proud of what they are doing but at the end of the day it’s not so much a referendum on ‘are we making a difference?’ but really a referendum about how closely do you want to be associated with the US administration,» the US official said.
In Germany, where polls show a strong 64 percent majority calling for withdrawal, parliament would have to vote on whether to continue with commitments for reconstruction, military deployment and training of Afghan forces.
The United States is particularly worried about the military commitment.
«As the issue of civilian casualties becomes more and more an issue in German politics, that is another one that is of real concern,» said the US official.
En europeisk «avhopping» vil være alvorlig, både for NATO-samholdet og for forholdet mellom Vest-Europa og USA. Siden USA drar lasset mer eller mindre alene i Irak, er Afghanistan syretesten på samhold. Hvis europeerne heller ikke tåler denne støyten kan det få alvorlige følger for forholdet.
