Powell says peacekeeping force will soon go into Afghanistan

By TOM RAUM
Associated Press Writer

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that international peacekeepers will soon be in Afghanistan. He said the fall of the last Taliban stronghold helps usher in "the return of legitimate government" in that war-torn land.

Powell said that the United States had begun consultations with other nations on the shape of the peacekeeping force.

He told a news conference at NATO headquarters that the new interim post-Taliban government, formed a day earlier, had requested the peacekeepers.

"There will be no shortage of troops," Powell said, referring to pledges from many countries – including 11 of NATO's 19 members – to contribute forces and military hardware. "Getting the right mix and determining the leadership of this force has yet to be sorted out."

He said that for the "foreseeable future," the United States would maintain a military presence and keep "going after al-Qaida, the Taliban and Osama bin Laden."

"We are now talking to the United Nations about what the mandate of this force should be, what mission should it be ready to perform," Powell said.

Powell spoke amid reports that Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar had agreed to surrender his last major bastion Kandahar to tribal forces. "I think it's just a matter of time" until the Taliban collapses entirely, he said.

He said the turnover of Kandhar helps "get rid of the Taliban regime and prepare the country for the return of legitimate government in the form of the interim administration that was created earlier this week."

At their winter meeting, NATO foreign ministers pledged in a statement to stand fast "individually and collectively" behind the U.S.-led military campaign against terrorism.

It agreed "to combat this scourge ... for as long as necessary."

The alliance also agreed to set up a new council within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that would include Russia as a 20th member. Under the setup, Russia would not have veto powers, and NATO could take actions without Russia's approval.

Still, leaders said the move was a big step toward improving relations with Russia that have already made progress since the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Powell also sought financial support from NATO members for the new interim post-Taliban government to be headed by Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-backed head of a new interim government.

In addition, Powell worked to ease members' concerns that their offers of troops for the Afghanistan operation were being spurned.

"The circumstances of this campaign means that not every ally is fighting in Afghanistan_but every ally is in the fight," Powell said earlier. "Don't stand down, there's a lot more to be done."

Many nations have offered troops in the Afghan military effort, including Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

But only a relatively few have seen action, prompting some frustration among key allies. Powell suggested that would change quickly, now that a new government is in charge in Afghanistan.

The secretary of state said he did not know if the international peacekeepers could be in Afghanistan by Dec. 22, the date the new interim government formally takes charge.

"The 22nd isn't that far away and you just don't beam people in. There's quite a process required to identify units, get them ready to go and then actually move them into the theater," Powell said.

Earlier, in a speech to the opening session, Powell urged NATO to expand its contacts with the nations of central Asia, "and we need to do that now."

The alliance's secretary general, Lord Robertson, opened Thursday's session by declaring that NATO must be "ready for the long haul."

"The threats have changed, but our resilience and relevance have not," Robertson said in public remarks. "There has to be zero tolerance on terrorism."

Later, Robertson shrugged off a reporter's question over whether the alliance should have a role in a struggle so far from the north Atlantic as Afghanistan.

"If the terrorists are being inventive, and for them boundaries and borders have become irrelevant, then for the civilized world, we have to be similarly inventive," he said.

"NATO is very much in business," he added.

At his news conference, Powell was asked about violence in the Middle East, and whether he believed Yasser Arafat was making the "100 percent" effort he claimed in clamping down on Palestinian terrorist groups.

Powell said that recent arrests by Arafat's forces of suspected terrorists was promising, "but I think more is required."

AP-WS-12-06-01 1146EST