A mine explosion in Afghanistan's Helmand province has killed four Georgian servicemen in the biggest combat casualty yet for the country, an eager contributor to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Afghan campaign. Georgia, a longtime NATO hopeful, suffered its first fatality in Afghanistan a month ago, bringing the total number of its fatalities to five.

The news came amidst a two-day visit to Tbilisi by NATO Secretary General Anders

Fogh Rasmussen, who expressed regret and appreciation for Georgia's sacrifice. Speaking at a joint press conference with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Rasmussen, who opened a Georgia-NATO liaison office in Tbilisi, reiterated an old refrain that Georgia eventually will become a NATO member. The fact that Moscow and NATO are back on speaking terms after the 2008 Georgia-Russia war does not mean that the Alliance gave up its commitment to Georgia’s territorial integrity and eventual NATO membership, he said. President Saakashvili, who views NATO membership as a defense against Russian territorial encroachments, commented that Georgian soldiers fighting in Afghanistan are, by extension, fighting for the security of their own country. “When I was sending soldiers to Afghanistan I spoke to them… and they fully realized the risk they were taking… and that they were going there to fight for Georgia’s national interests,” Saakashvili said.

Critics, though, charge that Tbilisi is putting all its eggs in one basket, while NATO is looking to improve its relations with Russia. Rasmussen again called on Russia to withdraw its troops from the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but added that improved dialogue between NATO and the Kremlin is what will eventually lead to peace between Georgia and Russia. In a short segue, Saakashvili also commented on Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s recent claim that he saved the Georgian president from being “hanged from the tallest tree” by Russian soldiers in 2008. “We appreciate [the] European Union for the role it played during the conflict,” Saakashvili said, adding that in 2008 not his life, or certain bodily parts, but the future of the entire country was on the line.