(Repeats to additional subscribers) By Kristin Roberts and Hamid Shalizi KABUL, Dec 4 (Reuters) - A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a car into a convoy of NATO forces close to the airport in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, during a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to assess the rising violence. No casualties were reported among NATO troops in the morning rush hour blast on a road just outside Kabul's international airport, an alliance spokesman said. NATO said the blast wounded 22 Afghan civilians. A spokesman for the Taliban said the militant Islamic group carried out the attack to "welcome" Gates, who arrived in Kabul on Monday evening. The spokesman for NATO, which runs a force separate to the U.S. military in Afghanistan, said that one of its vehicles was damaged in the blast. Tuesday's blast reflected a rising level of violence in the past two years in Afghanistan, the bloodiest period since the Taliban's removal from power in 2001, that has left an increasing number of Afghans frustrated with the lack of progress. Afghanistan's army chief, General Bismillah Khan, asked Gates on Tuesday for more security trainers and equipment to fight the Taliban insurgency. "The biggest problem is we don't have enough mentors, enough advisers," Khan told Gates after the two toured the Kabul Military Training Centre. "I need your prompt attention on this matter." "The U.S. government has been more than generous but our weapons are not adequate," he told the Pentagon chief through a translator. Khan specifically asked for small arms, mortars and armoured vehicles. SALESMAN FOR AFGHANISTAN Gates said the Pentagon was looking for ways to expedite delivery of needed weapons and supplies to Afghanistan. But he stressed that other NATO partners in Afghanistan must dedicate more resources to the war effort. He has repeatedly called on Europe to send more trainers, combat troops and equipment to Afghanistan and has argued that any progress made in the war could be lost if NATO cannot muster the resources that commanders say they need. "I feel like I am the salesman around the world for Afghanistan," he said, noting he had also asked China and Japan for help in the war during a recent visit to those countries. A poll conducted for three Western television networks showed that only 42 percent of Afghans rated U.S. efforts positively, down from 68 percent in 2005 and 57 percent last year. The poll conducted for ABC News of the United States, Britain's BBC and Germany's ARD network also found that support for the Taliban fighters is rising. Twenty-three percent of those polled in the troubled southwest said people in their area support the Taliban, triple last's year level. The United States has 26,000 troops in Afghanistan. About half are involved in NATO operations and half on other missions. More than six years after a U.S.-led invasion drove the Taliban from power, Gates said on Monday he was concerned about the increasing violence but he did not think Afghanistan was moving backwards. Attacks have climbed 30 percent in some areas and suicide bombings are up from a year ago in Afghanistan, a war often overshadowed in the United States by combat in Iraq. Gates will next week meet the defence ministers of countries that have troops in Afghanistan's south, the most violent area of the country. The Pentagon is also worried about signs that al Qaeda is resurfacing in Afghanistan after losing ground in parts of Iraq. Gates also visited commanders and local officials in Khost, an area that borders Pakistan. U.S. military officers in Khost told Gates security had improved there thanks to new efforts to work directly in local government centres in a bid to help build the capacity of domestic officials. Those U.S. military officers also asked Gates for more money, saying another $450 million would pay for more improvements to infrastructure and basic services. Specifically it would help build an airport and power plant. U.S. defence officials concede that military gains made in the early stages of the Afghanistan war, particularly in 2002 and 2003, were lost because reconstruction efforts did not follow. (Writing by Bill Tarrant; Editing by Alex Richardson)
