Washington: Senior US lawmakers have sharplyattacked NATO allies for their lack of interest in Afghanistan and asked them to meettheir troop commitments and financial pledges for the war-torn nation.

"We are doing our part. But I don't believe our NATO partners yet are. AndI'm concerned about that. They must meet their troops commitments and liftrestrictions that they've placed on the troops that are currently in Afghanistan,"Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Ike Skelton said.

"They've committed to some 3,000 more and they haven't delivered onthat," Skelton said in his opening remarks at a panel hearing on theDefence Department's Budget for Fiscal 2008 that was presented by the DefenceSecretary Robert Gates.

At the House Foreign Affairs Committee, its Chair Democratic Congressman TomLantos of California took serious exception tothe role of America's allieswhen it came to the issue of security and economic assistance to Kabul.

"... The time for excuses is over," Lantos said in his openingremarks at a panel hearing during which US Secretary of State CondoleezzaRice defending the State Department's Fiscal 2008 Budget outlays.

"I just returned from a fact-finding trip to Iraq and Afghanistan with Speaker NancyPelosi and other colleagues in the national security leadership of Congress.Ourdelegation met with President Karzai. Increased economic assistance for thetroubled nation was at the top of his request list, and I know it is on yours,as well," he said.