(Releads with quotes) By Mark John and Patrick Lannin VILNIUS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A NATO rift over Afghanistan deepened on Thursday after U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised concerns that some allies were not prepared to "fight and die" in the battle against Taliban insurgents. His comments came ahead of a NATO meeting in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius where Germany, France and other European allies face a concerted U.S-led call to send troops to the violent south of the country. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made a separate appeal for reluctant allies to come forward during a joint trip to Afghanistan on Thursday with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, whose country has more than 7,000 troops in the south. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer sought to keep a lid on tensions after Gates told U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday he feared "a two-tiered alliance in which you have some allies willing to fight and die ... and others who are not". "I do not see a two-tier alliance. There is one alliance," de Hoop Scheffer told reporters before the meeting, repeating his earlier appeal for Gates to reserve appeals for troop reinforcements for closed-door NATO discussions. "Usually we do not do that in public," he said. However, underlining the growing sense of rift within the alliance, Gates received strong backing from other countries with troops in Afghanistan who have for months unsuccessfully pleaded with allies to take a share in the combat. "We want to see more of a one-for-all approach, including more burden-sharing in the south," Canadian Defence Minister Peter Mackay told reporters, reaffirming a demand for reinforcements to help its 2,500 troops in Kandahar province. "That's non-negotiable," Mackay said of the request, which Ottawa has said must be answered if it is going to extend its mission in Afghanistan past next year. Dutch Defence Minister Eimert Van Middelkoop said Gates was "within his rights". "We all have to realise we have made a promise to the Afghan authorities, that we have to do the job in a proper way," said Middelkoop, whose government last year extended a 1,500-strong Dutch contingent in the south despite strong public opposition. FRENCH OFFER? German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung rejected mounting pressure on his country to send troops south, insisting security was worsening in the relatively calm north where Germany's 3,200 troops are based. "I think we are doing our bit fully in Afghanistan," Jung said, noting Germany on Wednesday agreed to deploy 200 troops to take over a rapid reaction force in the north from Norway. Few alliance officials expect major new contributions to the 43,000-strong force during the two-day meeting but the United States is determined to push the issue over the coming weeks. Specifically, Washington wants assurances that allies will fill the gap when some 3,200 U.S. Marines leave the south after a temporary deployment there later this year. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in December France could boost its presence in Afghanistan to help the Afghan army and police. Along with Spain and Italy, France has long insisted its army is already stretched by commitments elsewhere. The United States, Canada and Britain have suffered among the worst of the 741 international military casualties since the U.S.-led invasion that ended Taliban rule in 2001. The Taliban tried and largely failed to take on NATO contingents in direct combat and have reverted to a strategy based on suicide and roadside bombings to inflict casualties. NATO commanders believe the tactic is aimed at gradually sapping the will of European governments to keep troops in the country in the face of popular disquiet over the mission. (Additional reporting by Kristin Roberts in Washington and Nerijus Adomaitis in Vilnius; Editing by Dominic Evans)
Afghan police and security forces arrive at a mosque after a suicide blast in Lashkar Gah city in the southern Helmand province January 31, 2008. A suicide bomber blew himself up ...
