Polish reinforcements for Afghanistan

Poland is to send 1,000 soldiers to Afghanistan in February, in the first offer since a Nato appeal for reinforcements. However it is still unclear if any will go to the heartland of a Taliban insurgency in the south. Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said: ‘All I know is that the Polish decision is a very bold one. We are talking about the battalions here, as we said yesterday in the media, in other allies there is also still ongoing discussion, so I think in this respect that we’re doing well’. Initial reports suggest the Polish battalion may be sent eastwards, but NATO troops in the south say they urgently require 2,500 reinforcements to help fight Taliban resistance near Kandahar. However, it remains to be seen if the Polish offer might now encourage other member states to do the same.

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