Clinton seeking troop support from NATO

BRUSSELS, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Europe to urge NATO allies to provide more troops to the Afghan war effort.

Speaking to reporters on her flight to Brussels, Clinton said the NATO response to President Barack Obama's Afghan war strategy has been positive.

But she acknowledged confusion remains among some European countries about Obama's plan to start bringing U.S. troops home in July 2011, The New York Times reported.

"I think there have been sort of misunderstandings about what that date meant," Clinton said. "Now, that doesn't mean we're going to get to 2011 and jump off a cliff; it means that we're going to be as careful and deliberative as necessary."

The secretary is expected to have a tough time persuading France and Germany to add to their troop strength, the report said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy has ruled out adding even one more soldier.

The Times, quoting U.S. and British diplomats, said the Obama administration would be willing to wait instead of pressing for immediate commitments from France and Germany.

Britain plans to hold a conference on Afghanistan late in January and the diplomats said that would give German Chancellor Angela Merkel time to ask parliament for more troops.

Clinton said she also wants to explain the strategy to the public in Europe to "make sure that in coalition governments the political stars are in alignment to be able to announce additional commitments."

Britain has said it would send 500 more soldiers to Afghanistan, and Poland, Italy, Georgia and Slovakia agreed to send smaller contingents, a senior diplomat at NATO headquarters told the Times.

In Brussels, Clinton was to be joined by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke.