Deal Signed on Afghan Peacekeeping

The agreement allows for the troops to be deployed for a period of six months.

“We hope that this signature will bring to Afghanistan the stability and peace that we needed for so many years,” said interim Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

“We also hope that the cooperation between the Afghan state and the international security force and the United Nations will bring to an absolute end the presence of terrorism and banditry in Afghanistan,” he added.

The force was authorized by the United Nations to maintain security following the collapse of the Taliban government.

General McColl will lead the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which will be comprised largely of British troops. While Britain is initially due to lead the security force for three months, talks of extending the lead for the full six months are already under way.

Eleven other nations besides Britain, including France, Germany, Spain and Italy, will contribute troops to the ISAF, which is due to begin patrolling in mid-January.

British and French troops, along with 24 reconnaissance officers, arrived in Afghanistan in December to oversee the transition of power to Afghan’s interim government.

The United Nations had authorized the peacekeeping force in December, but lengthy negotiations between Afghanistan’s interim administration and UN leadership — on such factors as the number of troops to be deployed, their location, and their length of stay — delayed the signing of the agreement until now.