Kabul, March 15: Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has reaffirmed his country’s support for NATO’s mission against insurgency in war-hit Afghanistan.
Rasmussen made the remark in a meeting with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday,
Rasmussen told Obama that his country has “a long-term perspective” in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission, and that Afghanistan is “a key priority.”
The US president, for his part, informed the Danish prime minister that the United States appreciates “the sacrifices that have been made by the Danish troops in Afghanistan.”
Denmark reportedly has 750 troops in war-wrecked Afghanistan, mostly in Helmand Province, 40 of whom have died since the 2001 invasion of the Asian nation by the United States and its allies.
Relative to its population of only 5.5 million, Denmark has suffered more casualties than any other country, while polls show that Danish public support of the war has, for the first time, dropped below 50 percent.
These new figures indicate that Danish people, who have long stood with their prime minister, might now be having a change of heart.
However, while Obama and Rasmussen talked about Afghanistan, American anti-war leaders were preparing for Saturday’s protests against the Afghan war.
“Those who fought, and served and died or suffered in those US wars are going to be the ones leading the anti-war voice in Washington DC,” said the national coordinator for ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism.)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been leading ISAF since 2003 in support of the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
ISAF conducts operations in Afghanistan to reduce the capability and will of the insurgency, support the growth in capacity and capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), and facilitate improvements in governance and socio-economic development in order to provide a tangibly secure environment for a sustainable stability.
—-Agencies