Türkiye Refuses NATO Request for More Troops in Afghanistan

Türkiye's top military commander has flatly rejected a NATO request to deploy additional troops to southern Afghanistan, where an intensifying insurgency has alarmed alliance leaders. General Yaşar Büyükanıt stated that sending soldiers to join combat operations there was unnecessary and entirely off the table.

The request came from US General James Jones, NATO's supreme military commander, who on Thursday urged member nations to contribute reinforcements in response to rising violence by Taliban forces in the south. Jones described the need as modest, emphasizing that the goal was to give field commanders greater operational flexibility rather than to dramatically expand overall troop numbers.

Jones planned to renew his appeal at a gathering of NATO defence chiefs in Warsaw on Friday and Saturday.

Türkiye currently maintains 260 soldiers stationed in Kabul as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The country has previously commanded that mission on two separate occasions.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in September 2006, in its own words.