Washington: Defence Secretary Robert Gates said today that sending US Marines to Afghanistan will keep pressure on the Taliban and doesn't "reflect dissatisfaction" with NATO countries performance.

He was trying to smooth over comments a day earlier that sparked an international furore. The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that Gates said US forces in eastern Afghanistan are doing terrific job but that he is concerned that NATO allies are not well trained in counterinsurgency operation.

"Allied forces ... Have stepped up to the plate and are playing a significant and powerful role in Afghanistan," Gates told a Defence department news conference, which officials said, had purposely been rescheduled for earlier in the day today to met European news deadlines.

But he also repeated his concern that "the alliance as a whole has not trained for counterinsurgency operations," and he urged more training. Gates said he had personally phoned his Canadian counterpart to explain his position. Gates noted the Dutch parliament had just voted to extend its troop commitment to Afghanistan for another two years.

Gates comments in yesterday's newspaper had spurred the Dutch Defence Ministry to summon the US ambassador for an explanation, and they prompted NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to retort, "All the countries that are in the south do an excellent job. Full stop."

One British lawmaker, Patrick Mercer, condemned Gates comments as "bloody outrageous" and added, "I would beg the Americans to understand that we are their closest allies, and our men are bleeding and dying in large numbers."

Source : PTI