Europe reluctant to send troops to Afghanistan

By Ross Colvin

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - European nations are unlikely to contribute more troops to Afghanistan, the head of the European Commission said on Tuesday, as President Barack Obama considers boosting U.S. forces there.

Polls in many European countries show clear majorities in favor of withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, but the top U.S. and NATO commander there has recommended boosting the number of foreign forces by up to 40,000 as part of a new strategy to combat a resurgent Taliban and al Qaeda.

There are some 67,000 U.S. troops and 42,000 from allied nations currently in Afghanistan. Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Poland are the largest European contributors, with 21,000 troops combined.

"Honestly, in Europe there is not great enthusiasm for sending more troops to Afghanistan. That is the public opinion situation in Europe," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in Washington.

European ministers have said they expect any new troop pledges may come when NATO foreign ministers meet in December.

Barroso said he would discuss a comprehensive strategy that focused on improving governance and increasing training of Afghan security forces with Obama later on Tuesday.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who won a second five-year term after an election riddled with fraud, heard first-hand from Obama in a phone call on Monday that Washington expects him to fight corruption and form a more inclusive government.

"We want to see who he is going to have in his government," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly reiterated on Tuesday. "One area that we will be looking to help him with is improving good governance, which means fighting corruption."