BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that he was encouraged by NATO allies' commitment to the 8-year-old war in Afghanistan even as the Obama administration mulls whether to order tens of thousands more U.S. troops to the fight.
At a NATO meeting of defense ministers, Gates said a number of allies indicated to him that they are thinking about or were moving toward increasing either their military or their civilian contributions or both. (24 images)
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U.S. Army Specialist Kingsley, left, of 2nd Platoon, Baker Company, 2-12 Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, fires on enemy positions as Private First Class Kicklighter, right, ducks behind his machine gun during an ambush at the village of Lanyal in the Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan on Oct. 20. AFP / Getty Images / Simon Lim
U.S. Army Private First Class, right, of 2nd Platoon, Baker Company, 2-12 Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and U.S. Air Force Airman Moulton return fire on enemy positions as the platoon came under intense fire during an ambush at the village of Lanyal in the Korengal Valley, Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan on Oct. 20. AFP / Getty Images / Simon Lim
Soldiers in the 1/ 501st of the 25th Infantry Division file off the ridge of a mountain where they spent the night in a Taliban stronghold area Oct. 15, in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. Soldiers of the 1/ 501 scoured the Afghan countryside near the Pakistani border on a two-day mission into a tense part of Paktika province, an area that American soldiers had not patrolled for over three years. The troops were looking for suspected Taliban weapons stores and hideouts. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Staff Sgt. Steven Caldwell of Decatur, Ind. with the 1/ 501st of the 25th Infantry Division sits covered in sweat as he leads his men up the side of a mountain Oct. 14, in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. The soldiers were looking for the highest ground to camp out for the night, to protect themselves from attack from known Taliban cells in the area. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Staff Sgt. Steven Caldwell of Decatur, Ind. with the 1/ 501st of the 25th Infantry Division watches a caravan of donkeys carrying firewood as it passes Oct. 14, in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
U.S. Army soldiers in the 1/ 501st of the 25th Infantry Division shield their eyes from the powerful rotor wash of a Blackhawk helicopter as they are picked up from a mission Oct. 15, in Paktika Province, Afghanistan. Getty Images / Chris Hondros
Hazrat Ali, 12, lies in pain as a metal splint is removed at Mirwais hospital on Oct. 13, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was injured by an I.E.D in the Spin Boldoc area near the pakistan border. Mirwais hospital in Kandahar city is the largest regional hospital in the area, supported by the ICRC and the Afghan government it caters to most of the war wounded in the most hostile part of the country. A recent U.N. report has described 2009 as the deadliest year in terms of civilian casualties in Afghanistan since the start of the U.S.-led war against Taliban. In his latest report presented to the Pentagon, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the U.S. Forces in Afghanistan emphasized the need for winning the hearts and minds of the Afghans. The Taliban are now staging suicide attacks and IED blasts in densely populated areas to create a bigger impact as more of Afghan's war wounded hit the headlines. Getty Images / Paula Bronstein
Asan Bibi, 9, sits on a bench as burn cream is applied to her at Mirwais hospital Oct. 13, Kandahar, Afghanistan. She, her sister and mother were badly burned when a helicopter fired into their tent in the middle of the night on Oct. 3rd, according to their father. Three members of the family were killed in the incident. The family belongs to the Kuchi ethnic tribe, nomads living in tents out in the open desert whom are very vulnerable to a war they have little understanding of. Mirwais hospital in Kandahar city is the largest regional hospital in the area, supported by the ICRC and the Afghan government it caters to most of the war wounded in the most hostile part of the country. Getty Images / Paula Bronstein
Afghan boys eat ice cream as they sit inside a van in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 16. AP / Altaf Qadri
An Afghan boy reads the holy Quran as he sits next to the grave of his relative in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Oct. 16. AP / Altaf Qadri
An Afghan man rides a horse-cart at a marketplace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 22. AP / Altaf Qadri
An Afghan roadside vegetable vendor, left, tends to a customer as another man, at right, eats a soup, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 22. AP / Altaf Qadri
Stacks of brooms are seen as an Afghan worker, Noor Mohammad, makes brooms at a broom market in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Oct. 20. AP / Altaf Qadri
Workers transport ballot boxes on a trolley to be loaded on trucks at the Independent Election Commission compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 22. The United Nations began delivering ballots and voting kits across Afghanistan Thursday, as full-blown preparations for the Nov. 7 runoff in the insurgency-plagued nation's presidential election got underway. AP / Altaf Qadri
U.S. Army Black Hawk Crew Chief Sgt. Brian Larsen, of Tampa, Fla., mans his machine gun during a mission in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Thursday, Oct. 22. Larsen, with Charlie Company, Task Force Talon, flies in a chase helicopter which provides security for the medical evacuation helicopter visible in the background. The Talon MEDEVAC in Helmand is one of five army aero-medical units positioned around southern Afghanistan by the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, known as Task Force Pegasus. ( AP / Brennan Linsley
U.S. Army Flight Medic Sgt. Nathaniel Dabney, second left, of Prescott, Ariz., with Charlie Company, 3-82nd Aviation Regiment- Task Force Talon, directs U.S. Marines as they carry a young Afghan gunshot victim to a waiting army Blackhawk helicopter during a medevac operation, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 19. AP / Brennan Linsley
U.S. Marines with Alpha Company-Task Force Raider, 2nd Recon Battalion lie down inside a small patrol base during a pause in an all night mission in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan on Oct. 13. Task Force Raider is a strike force which conducts raids targeting Taliban networks in the Helmand province. AP / Brennan Linsley
U.S. Marines with Alpha Company-Task Force Raider, 2nd Recon Battalion heat their dinner at a combat outpost in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan on Oct. 14. AP / Brennan Linsley
Burned trucks are seen smoldering after Taliban militants burnt the vehicles, on main Ghazni-Kandahar highway in Ghazni, west of Kabul, Afghanistan on Oct. 19. Taliban militants set fire to 15 trucks carrying supplies to a military base in eastern Ghazni province, according to local official Sahib Khan. Afghan security guards killed two militants during the fighting. AP / Rahmatullah Naikzad
German soldiers on patrol walk past a woman wearing a burka in Balkh, Afghanistan on Oct. 15. The soldiers and police are taking part in the Focused District Development (FDD) program where Afghan Police are been rained to take over the responsibilty for security. AFP/ Getty Images / Michael Kappeler
Photo made with the use of a night vision device shows German soldiers partol at night in Faizabad on Oct. 17. More than 4000 German troops are serving in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanstan. AFP/ Getty Images / Michael Kappeler
German soldiers patrol in the city of Balkh, Afghanistan on Oct. 15.AFP/ Getty Images / Michael Kappeler
Steven Brueckner, German police officer speaks with children in Balkh, Afghanistan on Oct. 15.AFP/ Getty Images / Michael Kappeler
A U.S. Marine mans a machine gun mounted on the open back of a helicopter transporting members of Alpha Company-Task Force Raider, 2nd Recon Battalion over Garmsir District, in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan on Oct. 12. Task Force Raider is a strike force which conducts raids targeting Taliban networks in the Helmand province. AP / Brennan Linsley
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