Continue reading

03-04-09 Sarkozy rejects Obama's Afghan plea

Nicolas Sarkozy,the French president,has rejected a plea from Barack Obama,the US president,for his country to send extra troops to Afghanistan.Speaking at a news conference with Obama,in Strasbourg on Friday,Sarkozy gave his support to "the new American strategy in Afghanistan",but added there would be "no strengthening of French troops" in the country.He said France was ready to do more in the field of police training and economic aid.The two leaders addressed the media hours before the beginning of a Nato summit,which is likely to focus on Afghanistan.Rob Reynolds,Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Strasbourg,said it appeared Sarkozy and Obama "have agreed not to disagree over this"."It does look as if the American side here is not going to push the issue ... because they recognise the political realities - it's simply not going to happen," he said.Reynolds said it appeared Obama's power as president had been slightly diminished by the global economic downturn."America's stature has been very materially diminished by that [the economic crisis] alone," he said."It's a completely new situation for a US president in his dealing with his peers in Europe,and I think you're seeing a little bit of a reflection of that in perhaps what is a little bit of a lower impact presidency."Despite Sarkozy's unwillingness to commit more troops,Obama said he was "grateful" for Washington's relationship with France."France has already been a stalwart ally when it comes to Afghanistan," he said."It's not just a matter of more resources,it's a matter of more effectively using the resources we have."Jaap de Hoop Scheffer,Nato's secretary general,told Hamish Macdonald,Al Jazeera's correspondent at the summit,that keeping member-states on the side of the military alliance's operation in Afghanistan was crucial to its success."This is a war amongst the people,which means that we as Nato must keep winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people,and at the same time that we do not lose the hearts and minds of the nations who are providing the forces," he said