27 January 2009: ANI
London, Jan.27: The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has claimed that NATO is losing its battle in Afghanistan because of tensions within the alliance. The think tank claimed that the Taliban has been stepping up the use of suicide bombings and expanding their operations into areas that were previously quiet.
The warning, in the IISS's annual Military Balance survey of armed forces around the world, comes as new US President Barack Obama is expected to appeal to America's European allies to send more troops in an attempt to force a strategic breakthrough, The Telegraph reports.
The report said that the Taliban insurgency had continued "unabated" throughout the past 12 months - even moving into previously quiet provinces - adding to pressures on the alliance.
"Without more positive developments and a more unified approach to the conflict, it seemed likely that some countries with troops deployed as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission under NATO command might begin to reappraise their commitments," the report said.
"Tensions with NATO over mission objectives have undermined the mission's effectiveness and a broader debate is under way over how the international community should define 'success' in Afghanistan," the report added.
"There is a growing need for Allies to improve their efforts to define a common understanding of their objectives in Afghanistan, given that the absence of any clear strategic success threatens the long-term sustainability of the NATO mission," the report concluded.
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