http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071024/wl_afp/natounrestafghanistan
NATO nations offer more troops for Afghanistan by Daphne BenoitWed Oct 24, 3:59 PM ET US Defence Secretary Robert Gates expressed cautious optimism Wednesday after NATO allies offered more troops for Afghanistan, but he urged them to live up to their promises. "I am happy that today some more offers were put on the table," he told reporters after informal talks with NATO defence ministers in the Dutch coastal town of Noordwijk. "We discussed the shortfalls honestly and openly and a number of ministers talked very strongly about a need for increased contribution so that the burden is shared more equally by all," he said. But he added: "What we need now are actions and a sense of urgency and to back up our promises and pledges." Gates's remarks came after US General Dan McNeill, the commander of the 37-nation International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, updated the ministers on the needs of commanders on the ground. According to a senior US official, McNeill called "for more manouevre forces, more enablers especially helicopters and fixed wing aircraft," as well as trainers to embed alongside the fledgling Afghan army. ISAF is trying to spread the influence of President Hamid Karzai's weak central government across the country and encourage rebuilding. But it has faced stiff resistance, notably in the south and east of the strife-torn country, from Taliban-led insurgents, and civilian and military casualties have begun to wear away at public support for the mission. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was at pains to point out at that the talks were not aimed at generating forces but that a meeting to do so would take place in November. "I have heard offers, I have noticed offers from nations including for the southern part of Afghanistan, so I hope that will be followed up," he said. Germany has often come under the spotlight for resisting moves, for which it would need parliamentary approval, to redeploy away from the relatively stable north of the country and play a greater combat role. But German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung underlined that reconstruction work was just as important as fighting insurgents, and suggested that Berlin's stance is unlikely to change. "There are 3,200 soldiers in northern Afghanistan and in the south there are 30,000 soldiers. It would be a great error if Germany didn't assume its responsibilities in Afghanistan," he told reporters. "The north must remain our prime focus." However a NATO diplomat said that nine countries had come forward with offers, although he declined to identify them. One senior official said that non-NATO nations Albania, Croatia, Georgia and Slovakia were among those to make offers, which, if confirmed, could total up to 1,000 troops. France said it would for the first time send dozens of military trainers to southern Afghanistan, where heavy fighting has taken place, according to a defence ministry official. The trainers, expected to total around 50, will be embedded with Afghan soldiers in the southern province of Oruzgan, where some 1,700 Dutch troops are based. The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that such trainers -- members of so-called Operational Mentoring and Liaison Teams (OMLTS) -- were the key to NATO handing over security duties and leaving the country sooner. Gates noted: "Successful training of Afghan forces will be central to any progress." The talks came on a day when the governor of the troubled Khost province on Afghanistan's border with Pakistan survived a Taliban-style suicide attack. Taliban insurgents were behind most of more than 120 suicide bombings in Afghanistan this year aimed mostly at government officials and international and Afghan security forces. 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