Commander: Taliban ready to battle NATO
636304
A top Taliban commander said Wednesday the group has 4,000 fighters bracing to rebuff NATO's largest-ever offensive in southern Afghanistan, now in its second day. Suicide bombers are ready, land mines have been planted and helicopters will be targeted, Mullah Abdul Qassim, a top Taliban commander in Helmand province told The Associated Press.
723122
PORTOROZ, Slovenia  - NATO defense chiefs agreed   on Thursday to assume command of peacekeeping across all of   insurgency-hit Afghanistan next month despite some allies'   concerns over tactics and troop shortfalls.
227039
The Afghan government and its NATO allies are preparing to take back a remote town occupied by the Taliban, who vowed to resist as residents fled fearing military strikes.
389696
PORTOROZ, Slovenia - NATO defense chiefs were set on Thursday to agree to take full command of peacekeeping across all Afghanistan "as soon as is practicable" despite worsening violence there, diplomats ...Comment
15540
NATO leaders reported progress on Tuesday in freeing up more troops to fight Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, signaling that some nations had agreed to drop limits on their forces as an alliance summit opened in Latvia.
11911
Nato could be destroyed if European allied troops are not prepared to fight in Afghanistan, says US
512423
In American military parlance, it's gut-check time for NATO in Afghanistan, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy appears ready to answer allies' calls for more forces to fight the Taliban and al-Qaeda
769172
A Dutch general who until recently was NATO commander in southern Afghanistan said Tuesday the Taliban militia remain dangerous in some pockets of the country but now lack the strength to mount a major offensive.
234751
NATO's top commander today urged members of the alliance to send reinforcements to southern Afghanistan, where he said fighters of the deposed Taliban movement are waging an insurgency of surprising intensity.
337767
Military commanders are looking for more surveillance and other intelligence gathering systems to help aid the fight in Afghanistan, the top NATO commander said Monday.
714628
PORTOROZ, Slovenia  - NATO defense chiefs were set   on Thursday to agree to assume command of peacekeeping across   all of Afghanistan "as soon as is practicable" despite   worsening violence there, diplomats said.
367658
NATO leaders will declare their determination on Wednesday to prevail over Taliban insurgents and bring peace to Afghanistan while offering only small concessions in troop levels and flexibility.
7977
Almost a week into its biggest offensive   against the Taliban, NATO says it has cornered a large group of   fighters and killed about 300, but still needs more troops and   aircraft to finish the job.
262462
NATO leaders could agree to move troops around Afghanistan in emergency cases, as commanders demand more flexibility to fight the Taliban-led insurgency, the alliance's secretary general said.
586707
U.S. defense and foreign policy chiefs face an uphill fight this week trying to get its allies in Canada and Europe to boost NATO forces and coordinate efforts in Afghanistan in the face of rising Taliban attacks.
76899
NATO forces cornering Taliban guerrillas   killed 50-60 fighters in artillery and air strikes and ground   battles on Tuesday in a major offensive to crush a revitalized   Taliban in southern Afghanistan, the alliance said.
615460
NATO's top commander said Friday the alliance likely will expand its Afghan mission by year's end to include the entire country, including the lawless east where militants killed a coalition soldier in the latest fighting.