Gates works to fine-tune mix of troops in Afghanistan

PARIS — In many ways, it was a familiar scene: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, in Europe, meeting with U.S. allies about the war in Afghanistan.

But something was missing. For once, Gates during a weeklong tour did not plead with his European counterparts to send more troops to Afghanistan.

The shift in Gates' approach reflects both the significant growth in U.S. and allied troop levels in the last year as well as the increasing intricacy of the American-led effort.

Rather than twisting arms for more forces, Gates' mission has become more subtle, aimed at fine-tuning the mix of allied troops and emphasizing the need for trainers to upgrade Afghanistan's security forces.

With the troop buildup approved in December by President Barack Obama, the number of U.S. troops will rise to nearly 100,000 this year. In addition, there are nearly 40,000 allied troops in the country.

U.S. officials said allies have committed nearly 10,000 additional forces since the Obama administration's strategy review last year. Gates' effort has been to reshape the new pledges and existing contributions.

"The key, it seems to me, is not necessarily more troops in addition to those 10,000, but rather to ensure that among those 10,000 are as many trainers and mentors as we can possibly get," Gates said Sunday in Italy.

France's announcement last week that it would provide approximately 80 more trainers was a bit of a snub to the U.S. The Italians, by contrast, had announced earlier that they would boost their force by 1,000.

But French involvement remains controversial and politically touchy. French Defense Minister Herve Morin defended his country's contributions Monday in a joint appearance with Gates.

"We've added 1,300 soldiers in less than two years," Morin said. "It was a considerable effort at a time when other European countries weren't increasing their missions."

Morin would not address further increases, although U.S. officials privately hope Paris will increase its pledge. Gates has remained steadfastly diplomatic, citing the "sizeable" French force in Afghanistan and commending allied contributions over the last year.

Under former President George W. Bush, Gates' appealed publicly, and often fruitlessly, for Europeans to set aside their skepticism of the war and resentment of the U.S. administration to increase their contribution, then at about 17,000 troops. Now, however, allies have deployed or pledged nearly 50,000.

"If you had told me we would have that kind of increase two years ago, I would have thought it was a miracle," Gates said Sunday.

Besides the change in the White House, Gates attributed the extra forces, in part, to a shift in his strategy. Earlier, he said he pressed allies publicly, only to be accused of "megaphone diplomacy."

"So I decided to be quiet," Gates said "And the results speak for themselves."