From James Morrison, Washington Times: “In together, out together,” Hungarian Defense Minister Csaba Hende explained when asked how long his country’s combat troops would stay in Afghanistan after U.S. forces leave next year.
“But we are not going to abandon Afghanistan overnight,” he added.
Hungary has been training Afghan troops and policing the Kabul international airport as part of its commitment to the international force fighting Taliban militants and trying to bring stability to a notoriously volatile region.
Mr. Hende, on a Washington visit this week, discussed the future of the NATO alliance after Afghanistan — a mission that took the United States and its European allies far outside its Cold War boundaries established at the birth of the coalition in 1949.
“There is no doubt that the end of the mission in Afghanistan leaves us with the question of which way to go,” he said. . .
NATO entered Afghanistan in 2003, two years after U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban for sheltering al Qaeda terrorists after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America. In 2011, NATO intervened in Libya’s civil war and helped oust dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Mr. Hende noted that defense ministers from the 28 NATO nations are discussing the alliance’s future but agree on the threats still facing the security of their countries.
“The wise statesmen of the alliance see threats to our security from Islamic radicals, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, weapons of mass destruction,” he said. (photo: Government of Hungary)
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