Allies not ready 'to fight and die'

Vilnius, Lithuania: A Nato rift over Afghanistan deepened yesterday after US Defence Secretary Robert Gates raised concerns some allies were not prepared to "fight and die" in the battle against Taliban insurgents.

His comments came ahead of a Nato meeting in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius where Germany, France and other European allies face a concerted US-led call to send troops to the violent south of the country.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a separate appeal for reluctant allies to come forward during a joint trip to Afghanistan yesterday with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, whose country has more than 7,000 troops in the south.

Nato Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer sought to keep a lid on tensions after Gates told US lawmakers he feared "a two-tiered alliance in which you have some allies willing to fight and die and others who are not".

Appeal

"I do not see a two-tier alliance. There is one alliance," de Hoop Scheffer told reporters before the meeting, repeating his earlier appeal for Gates to reserve appeals for troop reinforcements for closed-door Nato discussions.

"Usually we do not do that in public," he said.

However, underlining the growing sense of rift within the alliance, Gates received strong backing from other countries with troops in Afghanistan who have for months unsuccessfully pleaded with allies to take a share in the combat.

"We want to see more of a one-for-all approach, including more burden-sharing in the south," Canadian Defence Minister Peter Mackay told reporters, reaffirming a demand for reinforcements to help its 2,500 troops in Kandahar province.

"That's non-negotiable," Mackay said of the request, which Ottawa has said must be answered if it is going to extend its mission in Afghanistan past next year.

Dutch Defence Minister Eimert Van Middelkoop said Gates was "within his rights".

"We all have to realise we have made a promise to the Afghan authorities, that we have to do the job in a proper way," said Middelkoop, whose government last year extended a 1,500-strong Dutch contingent in the south despite strong public opposition.

German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung rejected mounting pressure on his country to send troops south, insisting security was worsening in the relatively calm north where Germany's 3,200 troops are based.