ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT — Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday the change in U.S. administrations offers fresh traction for his argument that NATO allies must shoulder more of the load in Afghanistan, and an opportunity to repair ties with Russia.
The stalemated Afghan war is the dominant theme as Gates, the only holdover from the Republican administration of George W. Bush, makes his first overseas trip since President Barack Obama took office last month. Gates will see fellow NATO defense ministers in Poland, where he will ask sometimes reluctant European governments to send additional troops to Afghanistan at least for short stints ahead of national elections this summer.
“It is a new administration and the administration is prepared, as the president’s decision made clear yesterday . . . to make additional commitments to Afghanistan,” Gates told reporters traveling with him. “But there clearly will be expectations that the allies must do more as well.”
The era of good feeling that Obama carries globally could also smooth the way to a better partnership with Russia, Gates suggested, although he said Moscow is “trying to have it both ways” by undermining U.S. efforts to hang onto a strategic air base that resupplies troops in Afghanistan.
Russia remains opposed to U.S. plans to station missiles and radar near its borders in Europe. The Associated Press
