U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says a only a small number of NATO countries have troops in the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan and that more allies need to share the combat burden.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flies to London Tuesday for talks with top British officials on an escalating row within NATO over troop levels in Afghanistan. The Bush administration wants NATO countries to commit more troops to Afghanistan, especially in areas of heavy fighting with Taliban forces. VOA's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his French counterpart Herve Morin discussed NATO's involvement in Afghanistan during a meeting Thursday at the Pentagon, but neither would provide many details of their talks. VOA's Al Pessin reports from the Pentagon.

Russia is again warning Ukraine that any move to join NATO will "seriously" complicate bilateral ties and force Moscow to take "appropriate action."

U.S. defense officials made it clear today that while they appreciate the hard work NATO troop-contributing nations are doing in Afghanistan, more counterinsurgency training would help further the allies' success.

A new center for the defense against weapons of mass destruction was opened in the eastern Czech Republic on Thursday.

Forces from the 26-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization - or NATO - are encountering stiff resistance from Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan. In this background report from Washington, VOA Senior Correspondent André de Nesnera looks at some of the restrictions NATO countries have placed on their troops fighting the Taliban.

NATO secretary general said Friday that the alliance lacked about 50 percent soldiers to properly train Afghanistan 's army, calling for more contributions.

The Australian Government is calling on NATO to deploy more troops to Afghanistan to get the job done properly. The small Australian contingent is part of a 41,000-strong force fighting against Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgents.

NATO countries, which are being pressed for greater troop contributions in Afghanistan, are scaling back a 2,500-member rapid reaction force that is to respond to international crises.

Turkey’s border with Iraq and U.S. demands for Europe to be more active in Afghanistan are expected to be main issues on a meeting of NATO defense ministers opening Wednesday in the Netherlands.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was uncommitted when discussing Georgia's prospects of joining NATO during his visit to the South Caucasus country on Thursday.