Afstan: If only NATO would agree on a "surge"

The times they are a-changin':

May's combat deaths in Afghanistan outnumber Iraq

US urges allies to match Afghan 'rhetoric' with troop action

This is mildly encouraging:

Gates...applauded the Netherlands' signing of a memorandum of understanding on the purchase and operation of three C-17 strategic airlift aircraft.

Fifteen NATO nations have agreed to this project, and seven of them have signed the memo.

The fleet will be based at Papa Airbase in Hungary. According to the current planning, the first aircraft will be delivered in November 2008 and the remaining two in 2009.

The C-17s will be used by the 15 countries to meet national requirements, including for NATO and European Union (EU) missions. The project is open to other NATO allies...

Slovenia is in too. Lots of background on the whole project here.