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Brussels: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has appealed for Nato allies to step up their efforts in Afghanistan as he reports that the number of coalition soldiers killed in action there exceeded the death toll in Iraq for the first time last month.
Gates said yesterday he expects Nato governments to match rhetoric with action in Afghanistan and says the alliance force there has many of the same shortfalls as 18 months ago. This was despite vows at a summit in Bucharest in April to raise more troop contributions.
Gates said he dropped his scripted speech for the meeting to "speak from the heart" about the military needs to his fellow ministers.
The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) now comprises almost 53,000 troops from 40 nations, up from 33,000 troops 18 months ago, but commanders continue to press for more help.
Officials have stressed the importance of Nato finding replacements for 2,400 US Marines who are due to pull out by November.
German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung says his country wants to triple its training efforts for Afghan security forces. He has hinted that Berlin could expand the current 3,500 limit on its forces in Afghanistan. In Bucharest, France agreed to send 700 additional troops, which will deploy later this year in an area near Kabul in eastern Afghanistan, freeing up around 1,000 US soldiers to move into the volatile south.
US General Dan McNeill, the former commander of ISAF, which is trying to spread the influence of the weak central government across the country and foster reconstruction, has said that 10,000 troops are needed.
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