Afghan row may make NATO two-tiered alliance: Gates

By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NATO risks a split between countries that are willing to fight and those that are not because some European states refuse to send more troops to Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday.

"I worry a great deal about the alliance evolving into a two-tiered alliance in which you have some allies willing to fight and die to protect people's security and others who are not," the Pentagon chief said.

"And I think that it puts a cloud over the future of the alliance if this is to endure and perhaps even get worse," he told a congressional committee.

The United States is trying to persuade its allies to do more fighting in Afghanistan, where attacks by Taliban and al Qaeda fighters have soared in the last two years.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reinforced the message on a visit to London, where she noted that only a small number of NATO nations had troops in the most dangerous areas. "We believe very strongly that there ought to be a sharing of that burden throughout the (NATO) alliance," she said.

Rice said governments needed to be truthful with their people and tell them what was needed to fight Islamist Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, which re-emerged as a dangerous force after being ousted from power by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.

"Our populations need to understand that this is not a peacekeeping mission. It's a counter-insurgency fight," Rice told a news conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

Most of the fighting against the Taliban in the south of the country is shouldered by Canada, Britain, the United States and the Netherlands. They all want others to contribute more.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told parliament on Wednesday he wanted NATO allies at a summit in Bucharest in April to commit to a fair sharing of the task.

SHARING THE AFGHAN BURDEN

"We have 15 percent of the troops in Afghanistan ... We need a proper burden sharing not only in terms of personnel but also in terms of helicopters and other equipment," he said.

Britain announced a rotation of its troops in Afghanistan but said their numbers -- around 7,700 -- would remain about the same. Brown said Britain planned to send new helicopters and other equipment in the next few months.

Canada's minority government plans a parliamentary vote of confidence late next month on prolonging its military mission in Afghanistan, officials said on Wednesday.

The country's three opposition parties -- which between them control Parliament -- reject the idea of an extension. Prime Minister Stephen Harper wants the 2,500 Canadian soldiers in southern Afghanistan to stay longer but says he will pull them out on schedule early next year unless NATO sends in 1,000 extra troops.

"My view is you can't have some allies whose sons and daughters die in combat and other allies who are shielded from that kind of a sacrifice," Gates told the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.