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U.N. Mandates British-Led Force for Kabul
KABUL,
Dec. 21 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - British Marine commandos began their
peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan Friday after receiving unanimous U.N.
Security Council backing for a six-month deployment, with their first task being
to provide security for Afghanistan's incoming government.
The 53 Marines are spearheading an international "peace support
operation" force which will number some 3,000, news agencies reported.
As their first task, the British Marines, accompanied by Afghan security forces,
will escort dignitaries flying in for Saturday's inauguration of government
leader Hamid Karzai from Bagram air base, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north
of the capital, to Kabul, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Company commander, Major Matt Jones described the mission as "quite clear.
It is security and assistance for the interim government. We're quite happy with
that."
"It's a peace support operation for want of a better phrase," he said.
"We will not be guarding any locations. We will be providing a
presence."
Britain, which will lead the force for the first three months, is the largest
contributor with about 1,000 to 1,500 troops. Other European countries have also
offered troops, and Turkey has proposed to take over the force for the second
three-month period, diplomats said.
British foreign secretary Jack Straw disclosed Friday that Italian, Spanish,
Canadian and Jordanian troops would join their British counterparts in the
initial deployment.
Straw admitted, however, that the involvement of Germany and France would take
longer to secure because they needed to resolve internal issues. These include
Germany's reluctance to see the force under the overall command of the U.S.,
according to the British daily newspaper,
The Independent.
Many hope the force's mere presence will have a stabilizing effect. But the
decision to seek a United Nations mandate under Chapter VII, rather than the
less robust Chapter VI, reflects a determination to prevent a repeat of the
grisly spectacle of Dutch U.N. soldiers standing by while Serbs massacred
Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica, said
The Independent.
"It is a huge compliment to British forces that we emerged as the one
country that could be the lead nation in these circumstances," said Straw.
"It is also a mark of the development of British foreign policy that we are
very comfortable with that position."
An Independent editorial wrote that historians will judge that British
Prime Minister Tony Blair, from his instinctive reaction after the second plane
went into the World Trade Center, played a critical part in this benign interim
outcome, the British paper said.
"What we have seen is British foreign policy really making a difference.
And now, particularly within Europe, providing natural leadership," Straw
added.
BBC's online news service reported Thursday that what is obvious, concerning the
role of the U.N. Force, from the outset is that this is not a peacekeeping force
as traditionally understood.
Its establishment will have the backing of the United Nations Security Council.
But its impact will depend more upon the political skills and sensitivities of
its commanders than on their firepower.
The U.N. Security Council Thursday authorized the deployment of a multinational
peacekeeping force in Kabul and surrounding areas tasked with ensuring the
proper functioning of the new Afghan the interim government.
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