AFGHANISTAN:Nato defence ministers are shifting the alliance's stance on Afghanistan, placing greater emphasis on the battle for hearts and minds.
At talks in Brussels that begin tomorrow, the ministers are scheduled to discuss ways to reduce civilian casualties and whether to provide greater humanitarian aid. Previous such gatherings were dominated by US demands for reinforcements.
A Nato official said: "The ministers will certainly discuss civilian casualties and how to do better to prevent them. That will have to include a review of procedure and a review of how we co-ordinate Nato, coalition and Afghan forces." The debate follows a series of incidents in which civilians have died at the hands of either the 41,000-strong Nato force or the 11,800- strong US-led coalition - incidents that have led to calls from Germany and other Nato members for the international forces to rethink their approach.
It will also deal with calls for increased funding for post-conflict humanitarian aid, which Nato officials believe is not enough, and added resources for mentoring and liaison teams with the Afghan national army, which might eventually pave the way to national forces taking overall responsibility for the country's security.
European diplomats in Kabul said civilian casualties might have increased because of intelligence blunders by small US special forces teams working with their Afghan counterparts.
However, US officials say the Taliban is seeking to increase civilian casualties by sheltering in villages, and so break Nato's resolve.
Sarah Holewinski, executive director of the US-based Campaign for Innocent Civilians in Conflict, said: "We all know the Taliban uses egregious tactics when fighting, like human shields and hiding out in homes.
"But if Nato wants to claim the higher moral ground, it has got to show it's serious. For example, only five out of 26 Nato countries have donated to the compensation fund created last year to help war victims. What does that say to the Afghan people?"
In one of the latest incidents, seven Afghan policemen were killed by a US air strike in eastern Nangahar province on Monday.
There are also questions about an air raid in western Herat province in March in which Afghan officials said at least 57 civilians died. UK defence secretary Des Browne said: "We need to understand that preventing civilian casualties is crucially important in sustaining the support of the population." He said he received a weekly report about the use of aerial munitions in an effort to prevent civilian casualties.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said there was a "growing number of civilian casualties" as violence spread from the south and east. "Civilians suffer horribly from mounting threats to their security, such as increasing numbers of roadside bombs and suicide attacks, and regular aerial bombing raids," it added. - ( Financial Times service)