NATO forces will not assume counter-insurgency role

The NATO troops who will be deployed in southern Afghanistan next year will not take over the counter-insurgency operations conducted by US-led forces, a spokesman said on December 12. “The mandate and the mission of the ISAF troops when they operate in the south will be that of providing security assistance to the government and not of overt counter-insurgency or counter-terrorist operations,” said spokesman Major Andy Elmes.

A US military spokesman stressed the same day that the United States had no plans to stop hunting down rebels. “We’ll continue to take our fight to the enemy and we’ll continue to operate in the south and east,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Laurent Fox.