As a Sovereign State, Austria Will not Give in to US Pressures
Dec. 22, 09 (Hamsayeh.Net) - The United States government is placing a lot of undue pressure on Austrian authorities to provide more troops and commitments to the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
In a report published by Deutsche Welle this morning, the US ambassador to Austria William Eacho reacted strongly to the Austrian government’s independent views on the situation in Afghanistan. He said,’ It is the duty of any ambassador to defend the interests and policies of his or her country. This is in no way 'improper'. He also said Austria did not necessarily have to contribute militarily but could instead provide support in areas such as ‘development, governance, and rule of law’.
Although Austria is a member of the NATO, its government believes - as an independent state - has the right to decide which course of action it should undertake without succumbing to Washington’s agendas.
Eacho’s reaction followed a recent comment made by the country’s Defense Minister Norbert Darabos who complained to the American that he is publicly urging Austria to send more troops. ‘The pressure from the Americans is relatively strong. Sometimes it is a little improper, he (Eacho) should accept that Austria is a sovereign state. We will not give in to this pressure.’ Austrian Defense Minister said.
Austria has been contributing to NATO in places like the Balkans and Golan Heights. It did send about 60 troops in the early stages of the war on Afghanistan but has since withdrawn all troops except three.
The US led war in Afghanistan, which began in 2002 was aimed at destroying the Al-Qeda network - a group the US government says was responsible for the Sep. 11 attacks on its soil. There are now over 250,000 US, NATO troops and private military contractors in Afghanistan fighting against only 100 individual Al-Qaeda members and nearly 25,000 Taliban.
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