NATO CHIEF SAYS THERE IS NO GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS IN AFGHANISTAN

NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg says the treaty organization’s mission in Afghanistan is crucial in the fight against international terrorism and noted there is no guarantee of success in the peace talks between the government and the Taliban.

In an interview with Ansgar Haase of Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa), Stoltenberg said “whatever we decide, there is a risk. If we decide to leave, the risk is that we will lose the gains we have made in fighting international terrorism to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven. If we stay, of course there is the risk that we will see increased fighting, violence, and that we will remain engaged in a long-term military conflict in Afghanistan.”

He added: “It's a fragile peace process. There is no guarantee of success. But the ongoing talks in in Doha between the Afghan government and Taliban is the only path to peace, and NATO strongly support those efforts.”

Stoltenberg argued that contrary to the belief of certain quarters, “NATO is strong. We actually have more US troops in Europe now than we had in 2014. Of course, we have seen differences between the US and Europe. But the good news is that our allies are now doing more on burden-sharing, and they are investing more.”

WEEKLY FEATURE

JOSE MARI CHAN AND THE CHRISTMAS ANTHEM