Meeting to launch new commitment to Afghanistan

The hastily convened one-day conference in this Dutch city brings together all the countries bordering Afghanistan, including Iran, and all nations contributing troops to the NATO-led international force fighting Taliban insurgents.

It will be opened by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"We have great expectations," Karzai said after arriving Monday night.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to outline President Barack Obama’s new strategy - unveiled last week - for boosting security and strong government in Afghanistan.

The president said he will send an extra 17,000 soldiers and 4,000 advisers to train Afghan military forces, plus hundreds more civilians to work on development issues. More than half of the 70,000 troops now in Afghanistan are Americans.

The U.S. also will pledge $40 million toward smooth elections this summer in the war-weary nation, Clinton said Monday.

The meeting offers an early test of Obama’s offer of better U.S. relations with Iran, and of Iran’s willingness to respond. Clinton did not rule out a face-to-face meeting with Iran’s representative.

"I have no plans" to seek out diplomats from the longtime U.S. adversary, Clinton said. "I can’t forecast tomorrow."

"The fact that they accepted the invitation to come suggests that they believe there is a role for them to play, and were looking forward to hearing more about that," Clinton said during a press conference aboard her plane.

The leader of the Iranian delegation, Deputy Foreign Minister Medhi Akhundzadeh, said Afghans held the key to the future of their nation, not the international military force fighting the Taliban.

"The presence of foreign troops can’t bring the peace, security and stability to the country," Akhundzadeh said, in comments translated from Farsi.

U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke said the fact that so many nations agreed to attend made the meeting a success even before talks started.

Of the 73 nations invited, only Uzbekistan was not attending.

Holbrooke called the conference "the launch point for the international recommitment to the effort in Afghanistan and western Pakistan."

The meeting is not intended to raise money or troops - issues that may be raised at subsequent meetings including a NATO summit next weekend.