Italy to Send 1,000 Extra Troops to Afghanistan
Italy is enacting a troop increase in Afghanistan. However, the total number of Italian troops will not rise as high as 4,700 as some had predicted earlier. Instead, the total troop count will increase by 1,000 troops to about 4,200 Italian troops stationed in Afghanistan. For Italy, their commitment and ultimate success in Afghanistan is seen as a sign of NATO’s credibility and is therefore of the utmost importance to the nation:
In an interview published on Thursday, Italy’s Defence Minister, Ignazio La Russa, confirmed reports that Rome would send about 1,000 extra soldiers to the country.
Mr La Russa told the Corriere della Sera newspaper suggestions in the media that 1,500 soldiers could be sent were “just a hypothesis”.
He said the figure was “a maximum quota which we would never reach”, reported Reuters news agency.
Italy currently has 3,200 soldiers serving in Afghanistan.On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the conflict was a test of Nato’s “credibility” and that it was “clear that Italy must finish the job started with Nato“.
Italy ‘to send 1,000 extra troops‘ to Afghanistan [BBC]