BERLIN, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- NATO argues more troops are needed to win the war in Afghanistan; experts say, however, that a simple mandate change can already greatly improve the situation: End the U.S. Anti-terror mission Operation Enduring Freedom and give the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force general command powers, they say.

"OEF has overstayed its welcome; its resources should be transferred to ISAF, and the NATO general in charge should get general command powers," Markus Kaim, a security expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, a Berlin-based think tank, told United Press International in a telephone interview.

Such a move, which would require the contributing states to give up their national caveats -- stipulations where soldiers can and cannot be sent -- would "greatly improve the efficiency and quality" of the troops stationed in Afghanistan, Kaim said.

The security expert in his new paper argues that only a coherent, unified approach under one mandate guarantees the best conditions for success in Afghanistan, a country where nearly 50,000 foreign troops operate in two different missions.

Some 36,000 troops operate under NATO command with ISAF, and roughly 10,000 more with the anti-terror mission OEF.