AP: France Pulls 200 Troops From Afghanistan

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French Pulls Troops From Afghanistan
By ELAINE GANLEY (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
December 20, 2006 2:15 PM EST

PARIS - As violence mounts in Afghanistan, France is pulling 200 of its best soldiers out. But military officials here insist France remains fully committed, with 1,100 troops still based in Kabul.

Nevertheless, France's decision to withdraw its Special Forces comes amid concerns in Paris that NATO's mission in Afghanistan has grown confused and that the alliance may be overreaching in its efforts to stabilize and rebuild the nation.

French officials and experts say that as fighting in Afghanistan has dragged on and the insurgency has grown in strength, the special forces were no longer ideal for the mission. Such elite units tend to be more lightly armed, and specialize in gathering intelligence or rapid attacks.

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Seven of the 10 French troops killed in Afghanistan since 2003 were special forces. The soldiers combed the border with Pakistan for al-Qaida and Taliban fighters and looked for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Long based in Spin Boldak, a southern border town in Kandahar, the French rebased this year to Jalalabad in the east and are now expected home in January.

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