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Bloomberg Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- NATO's campaign in Afghanistan is under threat from member countries on the front lines clamoring to get out and others on the sidelines refusing to go in.
With military casualties on the increase this year, the Netherlands and Canada are weighing full or partial pullouts within the next 18 months. Meanwhile, leaders in Germany, France, Spain and Italy, mindful of polls showing a majority of Europeans oppose the conflict, are resisting calls to send troops to relieve them.
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As the U.S. military hunkers down in Iraq, President George W. Bush is trying to shift more of the Afghan burden to Europe. The U.S. remains the dominant force in Afghanistan, with 15,000 soldiers under NATO command and another 11,000 in a separate counterinsurgency mission. Britain, which is shifting forces from Iraq to Afghanistan, now fields 6,700, the second-largest contingent.
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Canada's 3,000-strong contingent has suffered more than 70 dead, on a par with Britain. With resentment brewing over the performance of other allies, the war may now claim a political casualty: Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
The three opposition parties that hold a majority in the House of Commons are pressing Harper to pull the troops out by February 2009. Confidence votes in late October may bring down the government and force new elections.
War fatigue has gripped Europe, with the public troubled by the guerrilla fighting with no fixed front lines or exit strategy and by constant hostage-takings and casualties.
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