JDW Annual Defence Report: Asia Pacific

This was the year in which the US and NATO woke up to the possibility of failure in Afghanistan - a failure that would not only cement the Taliban's resurgence but also spell disaster for neighbouring Pakistan and the NATO alliance.

NATO's new commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, took steps to reverse the gathering tide of Taliban success on assuming his post in June: he brought almost all US troops in the country under his command; restored high-level contact with the Pakistani military; and adopted a realistic line that success could not be achieved through only military means.

There was also a much-heard refrain on the need for more troops, with NATO's April summit in Bucharest essentially a prolonged appeal for reinforcements after Canada threatened to quit the country unless other nations contributed more men. France and later Germany said they would increase the size of their contingents by 700 and 1,000 respectively and the Canadians agreed to fight on until 2011.

It became increasingly clear, though, that the lion's share of reinforcements would have to come from Afghanistan itself and plans were outlined in August to increase the size of the Afghan National Army (ANA) to 120,000 by 2013 courtesy of a USD17 billion funding programme. The ANA numbered around 60,000 by the end of the year, with NATO forces at 51,000. 225 of 6055 words