Italy PM Praises Troops On Afghan Holiday Visit

Italy is among several NATO nations that have been hesitant to send soldiers to the restive southern and eastern areas.

Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi flew to Afghanistan on Sunday for a Christmas visit with Italian troops, who he praised for their efforts to bring peace to a country gripped by a growing insurgency.

The holiday visit came a day after the leaders of France and Australia also visited and pledged military and financial support for the fight against an insurgency led by Taliban militants.

Prodi, who held a Christmas lunch with some of the more than 2,200 Italian troops in Afghanistan, said he was moved by their sacrifice. He added that the international community was duty-bound to help Afghanistan.

"I thanked our soldiers, our administrators, all of the Italians present here because their work is truly precious," Prodi told reporters in Kabul, snow falling behind him.

"It's a contribution to peace, not just for this country but for the whole region."

He met briefly Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was quoted by Italian media saying afterwards: "Thank You, Italy".

Prodi also met the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), where they talked about the contribution of Italian troops, ISAF said in a statement.

Italy is among several NATO nations that have been hesitant to send soldiers to the restive southern and eastern areas where the insurgents are most active and clash regularly with foreign troops under NATO and U.S. military command.

More than 330 foreign soldiers have been killed in the past two years, the bloodiest period since U.S.-led troops overthrew the Taliban government in 2001.

The violence has also claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians and hampered development projects in large parts of the south and east from where the largely ethnic Pashtun Taliban draw most of their support.

Under public pressure, Canada and the Netherlands, which have troops in the south, have hinted at not extending the mandate of their stay beyond 2008.

The United States, which forms the bulk of the foreign force in Afghanistan, has been pushing alliance members to take more responsibility in the war against the al Qaeda-backed Taliban.

"The fact that some NATO member nations show disinterest in keeping their forces in Afghanistan beyond 2008 is really worrisome," the English-language Kabul Times said in an editorial on Sunday.

"While the Taliban are gaining more strength as indicated by the increase in the number of suicide bombings in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, the withdrawal of some NATO forces may weaken the morale all around," it added.

The United States needed to expedite equipping Afghan forces as an option, the daily said, a point that has been repeatedly proposed by Karzai whose power does not extend beyond major cities.