NATO says Taliban unable to mount spring offensive

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Hard-fought NATO operations in Afghanistan last autumn have prevented the Taliban from mounting a spring offensive this year, a senior general with the North Atlantic alliance said on Thursday.

"What had always been termed as the spring offensive didn't materialize," said Canadian Gen. Raymond Henault, the Brussels-based chairman of NATO's military committee.

"We've completely changed the complexion of operations in Afghanistan, and the Taliban or any other opposing militant force are now forced to use the small hit-and-run tactics or use the improvised explosive device or suicide bombers."

Last year was the bloodiest year in Afghanistan since U.S.-led troops overthrew the Taliban government in 2001, and was marked by conventional military attacks by Taliban insurgents.

Henault said despite continuing casualties -- seven NATO soldiers, including a Canadian, were killed when their helicopter was shot down on Wednesday -- stability and security were improving.

"We are now seeing local Afghans rejecting extremist elements, and running...insurgents out of their towns and communities," he said.

The southern area around Kandahar, where Canada's 2,500 troops are based, was previously "ungoverned space" but is increasingly under the control of NATO and Afghan forces, he said. He said 4,000 km (2,500 miles) of roads have been built and the economy is growing rapidly.

The general, testifying at the House of Commons defense committee, found himself the subject of a tug-of-war between opposition members and the governing Conservatives over whether Canada should commit now to pulling out of Afghanistan.

The small, left-leaning New Democratic Party wants an immediate withdrawal, while the Liberals and the Bloc Quebecois want the government to agree now to pull out combat forces at the end of Canada's current commitment in February 2009.

The Conservatives got him to say that NATO's reputation would be severely hurt if its Afghan mission, its first combat role outside the Euro-Atlantic area, were to run aground.

"If we were to fail, we would damage our credibility in an almost irretrievable way," said Henault, who also said it was far too early for NATO as a whole to withdraw. "We expect to be there for a while yet and until the job is done."

However, in response to opposition questions, he also allowed for the fact that member nations have robust political debates about what contributions they can make to the Afghan force, and that if Canada pulled out its troops, NATO would try to find replacements.

"Because we want a (troop) rotation...it doesn't call into question our patriotism," Liberal Member of Parliament Denis Coderre told reporters afterwards.