Soob

Last month saw an already struggling effort in Afghanistan look to be in danger of spiraling into protracted failure as the future of NATO's role wobbled under admonishment (and subsequent "apology") from Sec. Def. Gates about flagging allied commitment. This was compounded by Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper's line in the sand that promised commitment through 2011 only if other members stepped up to the plate and provided an additional 1,000 soldiers.

Enter French President Nicolas Sarkozy:

President Sarkozy of France will tell Gordon Brown next week that France plans to send an extra 1,000 soldiers to Afghanistan to bolster the battle against the Taleban. Senior ministers have told The Times that Mr Sarkozy wants to underline his commitment to the alliance during his state visit to Britain.

The Ministry of Defence has made a working assumption that President Sarkozy will announce a deployment of “slightly more than 1,000 troops to the eastern region”, one said.

The deployment would deliver a significant fillip to the military operation in Afghanistan, ensuring that other countries such as Canada remain engaged. It would also provide concrete evidence that France was keen to forge a new relationship with Nato.

Just a side note. The commentary following the above linked Times article is entertaining. The bits about "lapdogs" lend one to imagine President Sarkozy will have to balance domestic political fall out in light of this commitment with his want for increasing NATO allegiance.