Bratislava - Describing Afghanistan as "the most complex challenge NATO has ever undertaken," the alliance's secretary general called on Thursday for a greater commitment to bring stability and peace to the country and to prevent greater regional threats. To deal with traditional territorial defence as well as new threats, Rasmussen said the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needs a new strategic concept. This involves greater mobility and a streamlining of NATO's command structure and headquarters.
Rasmussen was speaking in the Slovak capital ahead of a meeting of member defence ministers that continues through Friday.
"I am well aware that there is an increasing number of people who are asking if the cost of our engagement in Afghanistan is too high," Rasmussen said. "To these people I want to say very clearly and unambiguously: The cost of inaction would be far higher."
He added: "The pressure on nuclear armed Pakistan would be tremendous. Instability would spread throughout Central Asia. And it would be only a matter of time until we in Europe would feel the consequences of all of this."
Reiterating remarks he has made previously, the former Danish prime minister said that more effort should be made towards helping Afghans govern themselves and that this requires more training and equipment for Afghan security forces.
Rasmussen said he plans to present a new strategic concept for NATO to the alliance's member states at the end of next year.
Regarding this concept, Rasmussen said, "We must ... realize that territorial defense very often starts far from our own borders, like in Afghanistan. And territorial defence also requires a capability to deal with new threats like terrorism and cyberdefence."
This new concept will involve Russia, Rasmussen said, adding, that Moscow and NATO have common interests in Afghanistan and in combatting terrorism.
"We will continue to have differences with Russia, but we must not let these differences hold the entire NATO-Russia relationship hostage," Rasmussen said.
The meeting's focus is on future NATO strategy in Afghanistan, NATO budget constraints, and a revamped missile shield to protect Europe from rogue states.
US Secretary of Defence Robert M Gates is expected to brief allies on Friday on the new missile defence system, to replace the recently scrapped Bush-era project.
