By General Ray Henault

Afghanistan is clearly in the news. Recent attacks have prompted a flurry of international reporting that suggests that things are heating up across this struggling democracy. While this coverage is understandable, what the reporting generally does not show is the progress that is being made.

Interestingly, the volatility comes at a time when NATO is preparing to expand its peace support operation into the southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan, which might suggest that progress is seen as a threat to these opposing militant forces.

What is being raised through some of this coverage is the question of why NATO is in Afghanistan in the first place. What does it hope to achieve? What has it accomplished since taking over this operation in 2003?

I have visited Afghanistan several times, including late last year, and I have seen the threats and the challenges firsthand. But, with each visit, I have also seen a determined International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), made up of 36 NATO and non-NATO countries, with around 9,000 troops, that is determined to fulfill its mission of stability and reconstruction despite these attacks.

For three years now, NATO and its contributing nations have been working closely with Afghans to help them rebuild their country, retrain their security forces and oppose those who are trying to deny this country its right to a brighter future. It is this holistic approach to peace support operations that gives the people of Afghanistan a very powerful defensive weapon: hope.

History has shown that progress and peace in Afghanistan does not come easily, not even for a people as strong willed as the Afghans or an alliance as determined and as capable as NATO. Not only are there environmental and resource challenges that are hampering progress, there are threats of every kind in this war-ravaged country.

What makes Afghanistan so important that 36 countries are willing to send their soldiers there?

Less than five years ago, Afghanistan was the staging base for many of the terrorist attacks that have threatened our capitals. Notwithstanding the pain and suffering that these attacks caused, it paled in comparison to the misery that the Afghan people endured while they were being held hostage by the terrorists and other extremists who were taking advantage of this poor and war-ravaged country.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, the world took Afghanistan back from the clutches of terrorism. The trouble is that there was little remaining of what resembled a country, let alone a democracy.

From NATO's perspective, the only real way to keep these threats at bay over the longer term was to help Afghanistan get back up on its feet and give its citizens something precious and powerful: hope.

This is exactly what NATO is doing in Afghanistan through its ISAF mission, helping the Afghan people to become self-sufficient by fostering the stability that is allowing progress to take hold.

From regular patrols to providing security to successful elections to supporting the reform of the Afghan defense and security sector and the training and buildup of its security forces, ISAF is a military force that is protecting and mentoring at the same time. ISAF is also making a difference by leading Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) that are working with local populations and authorities, as well as with international organizations to assess and improve the situation on the ground by helping to promote reconstruction and development — in areas such as education, health, water and sanitation — to take place.

Having achieved so much in the calmer regions in the north and the west, is the NATO Alliance up to the challenge of fighting its way to lasting peace and stability in all regions of Afghanistan?

I am confident that we will stay the course for two reasons: First, we, as an alliance of 26 likeminded nations, and our partners cannot let the Afghan people down, having achieved so much, and secondly, an unstable Afghanistan represents too great a risk to NATO nations and other world capitals to allow this country to slip back into the hands of the terrorists.

As chairman of the NATO Military Committee, I speak on behalf of the 26 chiefs of defense who make up this alliance. When it comes to Afghanistan, there is consensus and determination around the table to stay the course.

During my visit to the Czech Republic last week, I was reminded of how powerful this determination to contribute really is. When a relatively new member of the alliance, like the Czech Republic, is proud to send its soldiers to help the Afghan people, despite the cost and the risks, it illustrates our collective resolve to stay the course in Afghanistan. In fact, it is clear from my meeting with Defense Minister Karel Kühnl and the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Pavel Štefka, that they share the NATO viewpoint that, in this age of global terrorism, one must go further and further afield to protect our citizens and our territories.

Sending forces to places like Afghanistan is costly for NATO nations, and it is difficult for some countries to achieve. Long-distance deployments require considerable military capability and they are difficult to sustain. This is why NATO has been encouraging nations to realign their forces to be more expeditionary.

The Czech Republic, in particular, is to be commended for the effort that it is putting into increasing the usability and deployability of its forces. In particular, the Czech Republic's specialization in biological and chemical defense is leading the way in helping the alliance defend against the threat of weapons of mass destruction.

I know how committed the Czech military is to transforming and thus enhancing its contribution to NATO in places like Afghanistan and Kosovo, where the country and its allies have already achieved so much. It is commitments like this that give NATO its strength, which is why the alliance, with the support of its populations, will continue making a difference in Afghanistan.

For nations contributing to this global effort, this is a costly commitment. However, to not build on these successes or not invest enough in these vital military capabilities would allow terrorism to take root again in Afghanistan, or elsewhere, and if that happens, the cost to all of our countries will be much greater.