NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday international troops must keep up pressure on the Taliban after Afghan President Hamid Karzai called for a dramatic reduction in operations.

Rasmussen said that Karzai's comments were in line with the NATO-led mission's plan to endorse at a summit on Saturday a plan to start the handover of security responsibility to Afghan forces early next year.

But the NATO secretary general told a news conference that he did not agree with everything the Afghan leader said in a Washington Post interview at the weekend.

"I have read carefully what President Karzai actually said and in fact the thrust of his comments go exactly in the direction we wish to move as well, towards greater Afghan leadership of military operations," he said.

"Of course I can't say that I agree with everything that President Karzai has stated on all issues, but we also have to accept that he is the elected president of the country and of course he can express his views as he wishes."

When asked about Afghan reconciliation efforts, Rasmussen said the military campaign was helping to pressure insurgents to give up their weapons and join the process.

"This process is led by the Afghan government, we appreciate efforts with a view to finding a political solution," he said.

"But I also have to add that I consider it of utmost importance to continue our military operations, because the fact is that it is the increasing military pressure on the Taliban and the Taliban leadership that has stimulated the reconciliation talks," Rasmussen said.

"So there is no alternative to continuing the military operations," he added.

Karzai called on the United States, which contributes the bulk of the 150,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, to "reduce military operations" in Afghanistan.

"The time has come to reduce the presence of, you know, boots in Afghanistan … to reduce the intrusiveness into the daily Afghan life," said Karzai, who is expected to attend the second day of a NATO summit in Lisbon on Saturday.

earlier related report

Canada opposition blasts Afghan mission extension
Ottawa (AFP) Nov 15, 2010 –

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's extension of an Afghan military mission beyond a parliamentary-mandated 2011 exit drew fire from opposition parties on Monday.

Last week, Ottawa announced it would deploy military trainers — up to 1,000, according to opposition parties — until 2014 to help Afghan security forces take over security in the war-torn nation.

Canada's main opposition Liberals are backing the new training mission.

But the leftist New Democrats and separatist Bloc Quebecois accused Harper of breaking a promise to bring Canada's 2,800 troops home this summer after nine years spent routing insurgents. They also noted Harper vowed to seek parliamentary approval for any mission extension.

"Unilaterally extending the military mission in Afghanistan is the wrong thing to do," New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton told reporters in comments later echoed by Bloc Quebecois lawmakers.

"This is a sad deterioration in the level of democratic accountability that Canadians have come to expect."

Harper, at the helm of a minority Conservative government since 2006, acknowledged last week that securing support from parliament was important "for the sake of legitimacy" when it comes to warfighting.

"But when we're talking simply about technical or training missions, I think that is something the executive can do on its own," he added.

In parliament, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff pressed the government to release details on the number of military trainers to be deployed, where they would operate and whether they would remain "behind the wire."

"We are five days away from the Lisbon summit and the government is unable to stand in the House and tell us exactly what the post-2011 combat mission looks like," he said.

NATO leaders plan to discuss Afghanistan and map pout the future of the transatlantic alliance during a meeting in Lisbon on Friday and Saturday.

"There is no credible politician in the Western world who believes that you can be serious about the future of Afghanistan and not be concerned about its security," Liberal MP Bob Rae said, insisting that NATO training for Afghan troops was the only solution.

But Layton noted that any such training meant soldiers would be exposed to danger and likely combat.

"So it's time for our troops to come home," he added.

The conflict has claimed the lives of 152 Canadian soldiers, as well as a journalist, aid workers and a senior diplomat since the start of the Canadian combat mission in 2002.

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