Published: April 4, 2009
STRASBOURG, France — European leaders offered few extra troops on Saturday for President Obama’s intensified effort in Afghanistan, with most of the soldiers only on temporary security assignment, underlining deep divisions within the alliance over the war.
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Todd Heisler/The New York Times
President Obama joined NATO leaders to greet French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the center of the Passarelle Mimram bridge between France and Germany on Friday.
For a NATO summit meeting intended to be without drama, marking the 60th anniversary of the alliance, the event has been fractious both inside the hall and outside.
Thousands of protesters clashed with riot police during the session on Saturday. And although officials finally came to an agreement on a new secretary general — the Danish prime minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, 56 — the deal came only after days of hard negotiations to overcome Turkey’s opposition.
