"It is not only a matter of more forces in Afghanistan, we need an equal civilian surge as well," he told reporters in Krakow, southern Poland, after chairing informal talks between Nato defence ministers. He called on international institutions like the United Nations and the European Union, to help provide "more development, more support for governance and more institution building."
The EU, for its part, is already providing Afghanistan with some eight billion euros over the 2001-2010 period and is helping train the Afghan police, and officials in Brussels wonder what more Nato wants them to do. But the elections on August 20, in particular, will be an acid test of Nato's efforts to help spread security and democracy in Afghanistan, and could raise troubling questions about the alliance's future direction.
Nato officials have warned that security could be a bigger problem in the coming months. President Hamid Karzai faces a "constitutional crisis" as his mandate runs out in May and his government is accused of rampant corruption. "It goes without saying that these elections are a strategic priority of the Afghan people but also of the international community, which means that they are also a strategic priority for Nato," Scheffer said.
Germany confirmed that it would send 600 extra troops ahead of the polls, while Italy has suggested it could provide 500 more personnel, but no reports emerged Thursday of any other new commitments. "We cannot afford the price of failure in Afghanistan," Scheffer warned.
"Instability in an already highly unstable region, a safe haven for international terrorism and massive suffering for the Afghan people is simply too much to accept." US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, whose country has just announced the dispatch of 17,000 extra troops, also urged Washington's allies to do more to confront the Taliban militia.
But he too sought civilian help from nations unable to stump up soldiers, in line with the new US "comprehensive" strategy, which also includes boosting the Afghan police and fighting chronic government corruption. "Where the allies can make a significant longer-term contribution is particularly on the civilian side - on governance, training of the police, development, rule of law issues, corruption, counter-narcotics," he said.
"I hope that it may be easier for our allies to do that than significant troop increases, especially for the longer term." Gates also invited the Nato allies to participate in preparations that the US administration is making for a new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
"They want to hear what allies have to say as they, the United States, engage in their own process of strategic review," a Nato spokesman said. He said the US review would be completed well before Nato's 60th anniversary summit in early April to ensure that "everybody is moving in the right direction."
Ahead of the meeting in Krakow, the top US commander in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan, painted a bleak picture of the year ahead. "Even with these additional forces, I have to tell you, 2009 is going to be a tough year," he said Wednesday at the Pentagon. "For the next three to four years, I think we're going to need to stay heavily committed and sustain in a sustained manner in Afghanistan."