Rice, Miliband travel to Afghanistan

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband are on a surprise trip to Afghanistan. The pair flew to the major NATO air base in Kandahar province, the birthplace of the Taliban movement, shortly after arriving in the country with calls for NATO nations to boost support for the fight against the extremists. Rice, Miliband travel to Afghanistan They were due to meet military commanders who are based at the Kandahar Air Field and address soldiers who are on the frontline of efforts to tackle the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent movement. Rice said she and her British counterpart had come to Kandahar because the "rationale is to get out of Kabul" and see an area where NATO forces are doing a good job. It was her first visit to the southern Afghan city. Miliband said Kandahar was a good choice for a visit outside the capital Kabul because of its "iconic status in the history and position of Afghanistan." The pair reiterated en route to Afghanistan that NATO allies should stump up more troops for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) after a grim 2007. More than 6,000 people, including nearly 220 international soldiers, were killed last year -- the worst since the start of the insurgency soon after the Taliban were driven from government in late 2001. Commanders in Afghanistan have been calling for around 7,500 extra troops to ISAF, which comprises some 42,000 troops from 39 countries -- some of them in their most fierce fighting for decades. "Frankly, I hope that there will be more troop contributions and there need to be more Afghan contributions," Rice told reporters travelling with her and Miliband. When asked what would happen if other NATO countries failed to contribute, she said: "In the final analysis, you will see more troop contributions." "The problem is we have to make sure they are the right troop contributions and in the right place," Rice added. "It is not an overwhelming number of forces being sought here -- this is a troop contribution level that NATO can meet and should meet." Rice said that U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates would be working on building troop numbers at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Vilnius on Thursday. Her visit comes the week after Germany rebuffed US calls for more troops in the battle-scarred south, the scene of most of the fighting against the Islamist Taliban militia, in a tiff played out publicly. Canada has also threatened not to extend its mission beyond next year unless it gets more support. There are also calls for more "burden sharing," with nations like Britain, Canada, The Netherlands and the United States deployed in some of the most dangerous areas, while others refuse to budge from the safer north and center. Miliband said international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan were entering a "new phase" which combined military solutions with political and development efforts. This included conventional fighting and tackling an "increasing terrorist threat" as well as building on economic gains and promoting reconciliation with those rebels who could be persuaded to side with the government. Domestic support among some ISAF nations for the mission has plummeted as more troops are killed while the violence has escalated alongside the country's world-topping opium production. But it would be "catastrophic" for the world to abandon Afghanistan, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai told AFP Thursday, adding the government was however confident ISAF was committed and would see through its mission. "The consequences of not finishing the job here, and we have seen them first-hand in the events of September 11, will be catastrophic for the region and the world," Homayun Hamidzada told AFP. The programme of Rice and Miliband in Afghanistan was kept secret for security reasons, but they were expected to meet Karzai later Thursday.

Rice, Miliband travel to Afghanistan

They were due to meet military commanders who are based at the Kandahar Air Field and address soldiers who are on the frontline of efforts to tackle the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgent movement.

Rice said she and her British counterpart had come to Kandahar because the "rationale is to get out of Kabul" and see an area where NATO forces are doing a good job. It was her first visit to the southern Afghan city.

Miliband said Kandahar was a good choice for a visit outside the capital Kabul because of its "iconic status in the history and position of Afghanistan."

The pair reiterated en route to Afghanistan that NATO allies should stump up more troops for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) after a grim 2007.

More than 6,000 people, including nearly 220 international soldiers, were killed last year -- the worst since the start of the insurgency soon after the Taliban were driven from government in late 2001.

Commanders in Afghanistan have been calling for around 7,500 extra troops to ISAF, which comprises some 42,000 troops from 39 countries -- some of them in their most fierce fighting for decades.

"Frankly, I hope that there will be more troop contributions and there need to be more Afghan contributions," Rice told reporters travelling with her and Miliband.

When asked what would happen if other NATO countries failed to contribute, she said: "In the final analysis, you will see more troop contributions."

"The problem is we have to make sure they are the right troop contributions and in the right place," Rice added.

"It is not an overwhelming number of forces being sought here -- this is a troop contribution level that NATO can meet and should meet."

Rice said that U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates would be working on building troop numbers at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Vilnius on Thursday.

Her visit comes the week after Germany rebuffed US calls for more troops in the battle-scarred south, the scene of most of the fighting against the Islamist Taliban militia, in a tiff played out publicly.

Canada has also threatened not to extend its mission beyond next year unless it gets more support.

There are also calls for more "burden sharing," with nations like Britain, Canada, The Netherlands and the United States deployed in some of the most dangerous areas, while others refuse to budge from the safer north and center.

Miliband said international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan were entering a "new phase" which combined military solutions with political and development efforts.

This included conventional fighting and tackling an "increasing terrorist threat" as well as building on economic gains and promoting reconciliation with those rebels who could be persuaded to side with the government.

Domestic support among some ISAF nations for the mission has plummeted as more troops are killed while the violence has escalated alongside the country's world-topping opium production.

But it would be "catastrophic" for the world to abandon Afghanistan, a spokesman for President Hamid Karzai told AFP Thursday, adding the government was however confident ISAF was committed and would see through its mission.

"The consequences of not finishing the job here, and we have seen them first-hand in the events of September 11, will be catastrophic for the region and the world," Homayun Hamidzada told AFP.

The programme of Rice and Miliband in Afghanistan was kept secret for security reasons, but they were expected to meet Karzai later Thursday.