France Set To Withdraw Its Special Forces From Afganistan
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
PARIS — France is to withdraw its 200-strong special forces from Afghanistan, all of its ground troops engaged in the American anti-terror operation there, authorities announced yesterday.
The decision to pull the elite troops, based in the southeastern city of Jalalabad, comes as the Taliban militias are gaining strength despite the roughly 32,800 troops in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force. France has balked at sending its 1,100-strong NATO contingent outside the relatively safe Afghan capital, Kabul.
“There is a general reorganization of our” troops, Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said during a visit to Afghanistan. The minister’s remarks were aired on France-Info radio.
Among planned changes is a “withdrawal of special forces from Jalalabad in the coming weeks,” she said.
The NATO contingent will remain in Afghanistan, a Defense Ministry press officer, Captain Sebastien Caron, said in Paris.
On Saturday, Senator McCain of Arizona called on NATO nations to send troops into more dangerous areas of Afghanistan.
