NATO allies face U.S. pressure on Afghan troops

BRUSSELS-Washington's NATO allies will face pressure to commit more troops and money to supplement President Barack Obama's troop increase in Afghanistan at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers starting on Thursday.
European leaders were quick to offer verbal support on Wednesday to Obama's Afghanistan strategy, which includes sending 30,000 more U.S. troops to join the fight against a Taliban insurgency.
But they have been in less of a hurry to commit new forces to an uncertain military campaign that is increasingly unpopular at home because of rising casualties.
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Wednesday he expected U.S. allies to provide at least 5,000 extra troops and possibly a few thousand more -- short of the 10,000 troops and trainers Pentagon officials had sought....

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