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President Basescu visited Romanian troops in Afghanistan
A day before Romania celebrates its national day, 1st of December, President Traian Basescu conducted an official visit in Afghanistan where he visited the Romanian troops deployed in the area. The President was accompanied by US Ambassador to Bucharest, Mark Gitenstein, Defense minister Gabriel Oprea, Army intelligence unit chief Gheorghe Savu and US Embassy to Bucharest military attache Bruce West.
Basescu last visited the Romanian troops stationed in Afghanistan in March 2010. Back then, he told the troops their mission is to protect the civilized world from terrorism, adding he hopes their military mission in the area will end successfully during his second term as president of Romania, Agerpres reports.
End-October 2010, Basescu said at the NATO headquarters in Brussels that Romania would send 66 gendarmes to Afghanistan soon to help the country's institutional reconstruction. He also said a first contingent of Afghan officers was to arrive in Romania for training.The Romanian head of state pointed out at the time that 12 scholarships had been granted to afghan students in civilian universities, adding Romania would continue to increase the number of scholarships for young Afghans.
Romania has 1,663 troops deployed in Afghanistan, of which 1,655 under NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).Over the past years, 17 Romanian troops have been killed and 55 others have been injured in Afghanistan.
Basescu says satisfied with talks with Biden on equipment transfer to Romanian troops
President Traian Basescu on Tuesday said he was satisfied with the results of the talks with U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden on the transfer of modern equipment from the U.S. army to the Romanian troops in Afghanistan.'We are satisfied that the discussions we had with Vice President Biden on the movement of modern equipment from the American army to the Romanian troops in Afghanistan ended in extremely positive conclusions, which is of great help for us in fulfilling our missions in Zabul', Basescu said.
In the context, President Basescu said that the Romanian troops in Afghanistan are attain 1,800 military, by end December. 'It is for the first time that we number 1,650 military in Afghanistan, which means there will be 1,800 before end December, which is one of the most important forces Romania has had beyond its borders,' Romania's President stressed.
He also explained that the Romanian troops deployed in Afghanistan are aware of the fact that they must keep being present in the operation theater till this Asia-based country is completely secure, irrespectively of the year 2014, which Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai proposed as the deadline for the withdrawal of the NATO military.
'The troops are in a good mood, and determined to fulfill their mission, and I was happy to find out that the military had been informed about the conclusions of the NATO Summit in Lisbon,' President Basescu said. Romania's President visited the Romanian troops in Kandahar and Qualat.
We are not going to leave Afghanistan before accomplishing our mission
President Traian Basescu on Tuesday told the Romanian troops deployed in Afghanistan that the NATO forces, the Romanian ones included, would not leave the above-mentioned Asian state before accomplishing their mission. The Head of State described as optimistic the deadline 2014 suggested for the authority handover to the Afghan forces.
'I begin by thanking you for what you do for Romania, for what you do for the NATO, for what you do for the civilized world. As we pledged when we came to Afghanistan, we are only going to leave this country after accomplishing our mission. Of course, you will read that during the last NATO summit, the Alliance plans to hand over the security responsibilities to the Afghan security forces in 2011-2014. It was President Karzai's aim that in 2014 the Afghan Army should be able to get full control of the Afghan territory. But what I am telling you for sure is that 2014 must not be regarded as a deadline until which the NATO withdraws from Afghanistan,' said Basescu.
'Examinations show that 2014 is still an optimistic deadline. Therefore, we shall stay here till Afghanistan is fully secure and the Afghan population is able to lead its live in safety and in a way in which it should hope for a better future,' also said Basescu.
Two Romanian battalions, each of them being 500 strong, are deployed in the province of Zabul: the Transylvanian Dragons Infantry Battalion 811 from Dej (north-western Romania) and the Carpathian Hawks Infantry Battalion 812 from Bistrita (northern Romania), manoeuvre forces under the command of the Mechanized Brigade 81 from Bistrita.
The battalion from Dej has been in Afghanistan since May 2010 ad the Bistrita troops since July. They carry out missions as part of the ISAF-NATO operations together with US troops with a view to making the province of Zabul more secure.