NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Thursday asked for patience from the international community on Afghanistan, arguing that instant success is not possible.
"Patience, with a capital P, is the word we need," he told reporters at a New Year reception at the NATO headquarters.
"The problem is that we, the international community, have no patience. We do not realize sufficiently that when you want to assist and bring this country on a process of development and reconstruction, it takes time," said de Hoop Scheffer.
Assisting Afghanistan is a long-term commitment, not necessarily militarily, he said. "The answer to Afghanistan is not military, but is civilian ... Reconstruction and development is something for the long haul."
The NATO chief said he was delighted that the Pentagon is considering sending 3,000 U.S. Marines to Afghanistan. But at the same time he defended the efforts of other allies in the Asian country.
"You cannot say the allies are not active enough -- they are active," he said.
Poland has just offered to deploy eight helicopters plus ground forces in Afghanistan, a contribution which is characterized by de Hoop Scheffer as substantial.
Slovakia, Hungary, France, the Czech Republic, Norway, as well as non-NATO countries Georgia, Australia, Singapore and Azerbaijan have recently contributed or are contributing forces, he said.
But he emphasized that the allies can do more. "I am not fully satisfied because I think we can do better and I still have ambitions."
The U.S. move is apparently a result of Washington's failure to secure more troops and equipment from other NATO allies.
The United States has about 27,000 troops in Afghanistan at present, including 14,000 under NATO command.
Source:Xinhua
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