Stay The Course Wrong In Afghanistan Too

BERLIN: NATO's secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, is calling for a radical overhaul of military, civilian and development operations in Afghanistan that would involve the U.S.-led military alliance in playing a greater role in training the Afghan Army and the European Union taking over the entire training of the police forces.

The need for a change in strategy coincides with heavy fighting between NATO troops and Taliban insurgents in the southern part of Afghanistan, where the 26-nation alliance took over from the U.S. this summer. With increasing numbers of civilians being caught up and displaced by the conflict in this part of the country, de Hoop Scheffer said it was impossible to win "by military means alone."

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