It is no secret that the European-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan is viewed with utter derision by the American armed forces who expand the ISAF as "I Stay Away from Fighting", or worse still, "I Suck at Fighting".

Although many NATO and European countries have troops in Afghanistan, only the British and Canadian armies earn some respect for their willingness to fight along with the Americans. The Anglo-American soldiers call the German troops 'cowards' for their seeming determination to avoid combat in Afghanistan.

As the top-guns of the Obama Administration fly into Munich this week for the annual security jamboree, Washington might discover how reluctant a partner Europe is in Afghanistan. For all their visible enthusiasm for the new American President, European leaders are resisting Barack Obama's calls for sending more troops to Afghanistan.

It was at Munich many years ago, that the Bush Administration fell out with its trans-Atlantic partners on the question of Iraq. The then US Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, had famously trashed 'old Europe' for its lack of political will. This week in Munich, the American delegation led by Vice-President Joe Biden might find that not much has changed in Europe.

So long as George W Bush was in the White House, it was easy for the Europeans to attack American unilateralism, especially in Iraq. As Obama shifts American military focus away from Iraq, the Europeans are finding new excuses to avoid deeper commitments to multilateralism in Afghanistan.

For one, they point to public opinion polls that show little popular support in Europe for the war in Afghanistan. For another, European analysts suggest that the war in Afghanistan is not 'winnable'.

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