NATO to send more troops to Afghanistan, U.S. envoy predicts

U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan Richard C. Holbrooke predicted Thursday that NATO allies will soon contribute more forces tothe Afghan mission to add to the additional 30,000 troops the U.S. will be sending.

"We have been very gratified by the strong support of our European allies for President Obama's policy," Holbrooke, the president's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told journalists Thursday.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that the U.S. would be sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

Holbrookewas speakingbefore the start of a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will brief the ministers on Friday.

Obama's new plan for the war in Afghanistan includes assurances that some of theU.S. troopswill begin withdrawing from the countryin July 2011.

"I understand that the war is unpopular," Holbrooke said. "It's a long way off, and there's the legacy of Iraq and Vietnam."

But he also predicted that NATO members would announce more troops for Afghanistan at a series of meetings in the coming weeks.

"Some countries may decide to speak tomorrow at the NATO ministerial; others will work it through the force-generation conference on Dec. 7; and others have announced already they are going to work toward the Jan. 28date for the London conference," Holbrooke said.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said Thursday that pledges from the alliance already have exceeded 5,000 troops.

Italy sending 1,000 more troops

After Appathurai spoke, Italy which has 2,800 troops in Afghanistan announced that it will increase its contingent by about 1,000 soldiers starting next year.

Armenia also announced it would send a small contingent of 40 troops to Afghanistan early next year, its first deployment as part of the international coalition.

Turkey's foreign ministry said that while it is considering increasing its training of Afghan security forces, it will not participate in combat operations.

The largest contributors Britain, France and Germany are holding off on new troop pledges, waiting for the Afghanistan conference in London on Jan. 28, 2010.

The Canadian government has said repeatedly that it remains committed to respecting a motion passed in the House of Commons to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by December 2011.

The U.S. now has 71,000 troops in Afghanistan while other NATO members and allies collectively have 38,000 troops there. With the reinforcements, the international forces will grow to more than 140,000.

The Afghan army has about 94,000 troops and plans to expand to 134,000. The Afghan police force has about 93,000 members.