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NATO chief warns of Afghan 'terror Grand Central'

Tuesday, August 04, 2009 BRUSSELS: NATO will stay in Afghanistan "for as long as it takes," the military alliance's new leader said in Brussels, Belgium, Monday."We will support the Afghan people for as long as it takes -- let me repeat that, for as long as it takes," said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Danish prime minister who became secretary general on August 1.He said success in the country was NATO's top priority, "to help prevent Afghanistan from becoming again the Grand Central Station of international terrorism.""Anyone who believes in basic human rights, including women's rights, should support this mission," he said.But he said the country must take "lead responsibility" for its own security over the course of his five-year term.NATO's International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan has taken a battering in recent months, suffering record casualties as it tries to dislodge Taliban fighters from areas of the country where they hold sway.At least nine NATO troops died in Afghanistan over the weekend, a bloody start to August after at least 75 troops were killed there in July.
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