During a day of back-to-back meetings with NATO and EU officials, Biden pledged to take into account European concerns about Afghanistan, emphasising the break from ex-president George W. Bush's go-it-alone approach.

"It's worth exploring," Biden told reporters after President Barack Obama at the weekend floated the idea of talks with moderates from the Islamic militia to help stabilise the country.

"I do think it's worth engaging and determining whether or not there are those who are willing to participate in a secure and stable Afghan state," he said in Brussels following talks at NATO headquarters.

The vice president said he shared US envoy Richard Holbrooke's assessment that 70 percent of Taliban forces were paid fighters and that only a small minority were hard-core Islamists.

Talks with the Taliban would be led by Afghan President Hamid Karzai who has long supported dialogue in a bid to isolate hardliners waging an increasingly bloody insurgency in Afghanistan.

"We are not now winning the war but the war is far from lost," Biden said.

Obama has ordered 17,000 extra US troops to Afghanistan and a top-to-bottom review of his war policy, shifting the focus from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the fight against Islamic militants.

But European allies have made it clear they are not ready to contribute more frontline troops.

"I heard from our allies. I heard the concerns and they listed their priorities," Biden said after the meeting of the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's top decision-making body for its 26 member states.

He also held a working lunch with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, whose country holds the presidency of the European Union.

"And I pledged to them, as I pledge to all Europeans now, that we will build their ideas into our review."

European officials have suggested they could take part in police training, civilian reconstruction and offer assistance during elections in Afghanistan set for August.

Germany has offered to send 600 extra troops to beef up security during the vote.

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the allies had an obligation to make good on its pledges of assistance once a new strategy has been agreed.

"It is also important this alliance deliver in the short term," he said.

Obama's strategic review on Afghanistan is expected to be discussed at a UN conference in The Hague on March 31 and and be ready in time for a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in early April.

Biden said the worsening security situation in Afghanistan posed a security threat to all NATO countries and that "a terrorist attack in Europe is viewed as an attack on us."

The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the bombings in Madrid in 2004 and London in 2005 were planned "from the very same mountains" along the Afghan-Pakistan border, he said.

"This is not a US-centric view."

Nearly 70,000 foreign troops under NATO and US command have been fighting a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan since late 2001.

Biden meanwhile denied reports that Washington was championing Canada's Defence Minister Peter MacKay to replace Scheffer in August.

"The United States has not made a decision yet," Biden told reporters.

Normally the post is held by a European while an American, currently General John Craddock, is supreme allied commander Europe.

However, Biden stressed that "we don't think, as a matter of policy, any member nation should be ruled out as being able to provide a secretary general."

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been reported as having the backing of European powers.

earlier related report
US must prevent Taliban takeover in Afghan war: Gates The United States must "at a minimum" prevent Taliban insurgents from returning to power in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said in an interview on Tuesday.

While President Barack Obama's administration was still reviewing US strategy in Afghanistan, Gates said that the US effort would have to ensure the Taliban would not rule the country again after being ousted in 2001.

"I would say that at a minimum, the mission is to prevent the Taliban from retaking power against a democratically elected government in Afghanistan, thus turning Afghanistan, potentially again, into a haven for Al-Qaeda and other extremists," Gates told National Public Radio.

The defense chief was asked if the administration's goal was to gain a strong enough position to pursue negotiations with elements of the insurgents, but he did not speak directly to possible talks with the Taliban.

"The specific mission is clearly one of the subjects under review by the administration right now. And I think we have to wait until that's done to have real clarity on that," he said.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden said this week that possible negotiations with elements of the insurgents should be considered, with Biden saying on Tuesday it was an option "worth exploring."

Taliban insurgents, allied with Al-Qaeda, have rebounded in Afghanistan in the years since the US-led invasion toppled their regime in 2001.

Gates said "the reality is that this situation really began to go downhill again about 2005, 2006, as the Taliban began to take advantage of their safe haven on the Pakistani side of the border, to begin to re-infiltrate into Afghanistan, and create security problems."

"And we've really just been responding to that."

Asked if the war was entering a new phase, Gates said: "Well, I don't know whether it's act three or just a prolongation of act two. But clearly, we all still have our work cut out for us."

Gates also reiterated calls for bolstering civilian efforts in Afghanistan and that he hoped NATO allies could provide some assistance.

"I think that they are committing additional troops to provide security for the election. I'm not sure that they'll be there for a prolonged period of time," he said referring to NATO member states.

"But I would say that really where we need the help is on the civilian side, whether it's agricultural specialists or people who can help with governance, economic development, and so on."

Obama last month approved the deployment of 17,000 US troops to Afghanistan, who will join the already 38,000 strong US force taking on a growing insurgency.

Share This Article With Planet Earth

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News