Belgium to withdraw half of its Afghan contingent by 2012

PanARMENIAN.Net - Defense Minister Pieter De Crem said Sunday the pullout would be in line with President Barack Obama's announcement of the start of the U.S. withdrawal next month. Washington intends to cut a third of its 100,000 troops by next summer.

Belgium joins a growing number of NATO nations intending to recall large numbers of troops from Afghanistan. America's NATO European allies and several partner countries contribute about 40,000 troops to the NATO force.

Half of the Belgian troops provide security for Kabul airport. The rest are based mainly in Kandahar in the south, where six Belgian F-16 fighters are deployed, according to The Associated Press.

The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States and the United Kingdom, and the Afghan United Front (Northern Alliance), launched Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the September 11 attacks on the United States, with the stated goal of dismantling the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization and ending its use of Afghanistan as a base. The United States also said that it would remove the Taliban regime from power and create a viable democratic state. As of April 2011, foreign military contingent in Afghanistan amounted to 152 thus. soldiers and commissioned officer.