In an oped for the European online publication E!Sharp, Matthew Wallin analyzes whether President Obama’s efforts to improve relations with Europe have helped to achieve his security goals for Afghanistan:
Are President Obama’s efforts to repair US-European relations directly attributable to this willingness to augment forces? This is unclear, especially when viewed against the increases of 2007-2008. Interestingly, when viewed as a percentage of total ISAF composition, the overall trend from 2008-2011 indicates that France’s contribution has remained roughly the same, Germany’s has decreased, and the UK’s has decreased significantly.
Read the full oped here.