NATO approves expanded military presence in Afghanistan

Leader 'very satisfied' with U.S. torture policy explanation

? NATO foreign ministers approved plans Thursday to send up to 6,000 troops into southern Afghanistan, a major expansion of the alliance’s peacekeeping mission into some of the most dangerous parts of the country.

The deployment next year of mostly European and Canadian troops will free up U.S. forces to focus on counterinsurgency operations against Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in Afghanistan’s volatile south and east.

“They will bring peace to more people in Afghanistan,” said NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. “They will help ensure that terrorism cannot take hold again of this country and use it as a base from which to threaten the world.”

NATO’s expansion should allow the United States to scale back its about 18,000-strong military presence almost five years after it invaded the country following the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington. The Pentagon, however, has yet to say how many troops it will withdraw.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice listens to questions from journalists Thursday during a media conference at NATO headquarters. NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer said Thursday that Rice has cleared

The plans give the NATO peacekeepers a stronger self-defense mandate, guarantee support from U.S. combat troops if they face a serious attack and set out rules for handling detainees – all issues that have concerned some European allies mulling participation in the expanded force.

The extra NATO troops are scheduled to start moving into southern Afghanistan around May.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared to ease European concerns over the allegations that the CIA mistreated terrorist suspects in secret prisons and flew detainees around Europe on clandestine flights.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Rice assured them the U.S. administration does not interpret international humanitarian law differently from its allies. His Dutch counterpart Ben Bot told reporters he was “very satisfied” with Rice’s explanation.