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Combat troops to Afghanistan

U.S. defense chief calls Afghan mission vital to Europe’s safety



The U.S. defense secretary, Robert Gates, issued a stark warning Sunday to the people of Europe, saying that their safety from terrorist attack by Islamic extremists was directly linked to NATO's success in stabilizing Afghanistan.

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After weeks of calling on alliance governments to send more combat troops and trainers to Afghanistan, Gates made his case directly to populations across the Continent in a keynote speech to an international security conference here. Gates summoned the memory of Sept. 11, 2001, to say that Europe was at risk of falling victim to attacks of the same enormity. "I am concerned that many people on this Continent may not comprehend the magnitude of the direct threat to European security," Gates said. "For the United States, Sept. 11 was a galvanizing event, one that opened the American public's eyes to dangers from distant lands." In a hall filled with government officials, legislators and policy analysts from around the world, Gates added: "So now I would like to add my voice to those of many allied leaders on the Continent and speak directly to the people of Europe. The threat posed by violent Islamic extremism is real and it is not going to go away." Gates listed terrorist attacks in Madrid, London, Istanbul, Amsterdam, Paris and Glasgow, and said that other attacks, some complex, had been disrupted before they could be carried out in Belgium, Germany and Denmark and on airliners over the Atlantic. More...


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