NATO Chief Opens Alliance Meeting with Warning on Afghanistan

The NATO chief delivered his warning Thursday at the opening of a two-day meeting of alliance defense ministers in Vilnius, Lithuania. He said NATO must take concrete steps to build up its military effectiveness in Afghanistan, where NATO forces are battling an ongoing Taliban insurgency.

The meeting is expected to focus on complaints from Canada, the Netherlands and Britain - three NATO countries that have joined with the United States in doing the bulk of fighting in volatile southern Afghanistan.

Canada has threatened to pull its troops from the country next year unless other allies send reinforcements.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged the complaints Wednesday in London.

Rice said NATO countries must share the burden of fighting in Afghanistan more equally. She also said NATO countries must come to understand the alliance is fighting an armed insurgency in Afghanistan, and not simply participating in a peacekeeping mission. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered the same message to the British parliament during the Rice visit.

Source: By VOA News