NATO Urges Allies To Follow Obama`s Afghan Lead

`2009 will see an infusion of United States forces in this operation,` NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news briefing.

NATO members need to follow the U.S. lead in boosting their commitment to the fight against militants in Afghanistan, the alliance's chief said on Monday, the eve of Barack Obama's inauguration as U.S. president.

"2009 will see an infusion of United States forces in this operation," NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a news briefing.

"I strongly hope that we will also see the other allies step up with more forces and when that's not possible with more civilian aid, development cooperation, reconstruction aid.

"I think it's fair and I think also politically healthy for the alliance if we have a fair sharing of the burdens in this alliance and this mission between all the allies."

Obama, who will be sworn into office on Tuesday, has said he will make Afghanistan the central front in his fight against terrorism and has committed to sending more U.S. forces to tackle worsening insurgent violence.

But many European allies have been reluctant to commit more to an increasingly dangerous operation.

The United States has about 33,000 troops in Afghanistan and plans to add at least another 13,000 by summer, according to Pentagon officials. European NATO allies have about 27,000 troops in the country.

De Hoop Scheffer repeated a call on the Afghan government to do more to improve governance and stamp out corruption and drug trafficking.

In a strongly worded opinion piece in Sunday's Washington Post, De Hoop Scheffer said weak leadership was more to blame for Afghanistan's sluggish progress than the Taliban insurgency.

Speaking to reporters, he said President Hamid Karzai enjoyed his "full confidence" and this was advice "between friends", but he added: "There is still a lot to be done in the fight against corruption and those related subjects."

"The Afghan people will decide in the elections who they are going to elect as president," he said, referring to presidential polls expected to be held this year.

De Hoop Scheffer said NATO's commitment to Afghanistan was long term, but it had "paid a lot in blood and treasure" in the country, earning the right for it to demand more progress.

"2009 will not be an easy year in Afghanistan," he said. "There will certainly be more violence, including because we put more forces on the ground. Successful elections will be of extreme importance."

The NATO chief reiterated the need to see the Afghanistan conflict in a more regional focus.

He said the alliance would be looking to deepen political dialogue with Afghanistan's neighbour Pakistan, an ally in the fight against militants but whose lawless tribal borderlands also provide a safe haven for Islamist militants.