Norway sends 200 soldiers to Afghanistan

The guard and security company will consist of a mechanised infantry company of some 200 soldiers from the Telemark Battalion. The intention is to be able to declare the unit operational for service with ISAF by the end of November.

It is planned that the Afghan ‘Grand Council’, or Loya Jirga, will convene in December to agree on a new constitution for Afghanistan. The Constitutional Loya Jirga may remain in being until January/February 2004. A successful Loya Jirga will represent an important step forward in the Bonn process and help to pave the way for the satisfactory conduct of the elections planned for June next year.

“In our budget proposals for 2004 we have made it clear, as a consequence of NATO’s decision to take over the leadership of ISAF as from August this year, that we regard Norway’s participation in this operation in Afghanistan as a matter of priority. We are now taking the appropriate action. We are well aware that this is a demanding mission involving many risks, and we will take every possible measure to ensure the safety of the force that we are sending,” says the Defence Minister, Kristin Krohn Devold.

The cost of this mission for ISAF will, for 2004, be covered by the allowance made in the defence budget for planned international operations. The funding of mission costs for November and December 2003 will be dealt with in the Government’s revised budget and restructuring proposals.

Norway has been involved in two operations in Afghanistan and the surrounding areas. In addition to participation in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), whose mission has been to stabilise the situation in and around the capital Kabul, Norway has contributed to the United States led operation “Enduring Freedom”, the main aim of which is to combat al‑Qaeda’s terrorist network.