US defense secretary Robert Gates said on Friday the United States wants to send reinforcements to Afghanistan before elections next year, adding the ballot is "maybe the most important objective for us in 2009".

His Canadian host Defense Minister Peter MacKay, at a meeting in eastern Canada of NATO countries deployed in southern Afghanistan, urged other members of the alliance to also boost their troop deployment.

"One of the things we talked about was the desirability of trying to surge as many forces as we can prior to the elections to try to provide a secure environment for the election in Afghanistan," Gates said.

"I think all of us agree that one of our most important, maybe the most important objective for us in 2009 in Afghanistan is a successful election," said the US defense secretary.

"We would like to get some of these additional brigade combat teams into Afghanistan before the election ... but we haven't made any final decision about the timing of the brigades after the first brigade comes in January."

Afghans have already started registering for the Afghan presidential elections expected in 2009, and the "challenge is principally focused in the south," Gates said.

A US brigade of 3500 to 4000 soldiers is expected to land in Afghanistan in January and US General David McKiernan, commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF), has requested three more brigades.

"We are talking about more than 20 000 troops," said Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell, adding that the hope was to deploy those troops "over the next 12 to 18 months."

MacKay said Canada "would very much like to see other NATO countries engaged" in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, where its forces are currently set up, but scheduled to leave in 2011.

"While there is volatility everywhere, Kandahar province ... is an area that we are very happy to see more troops coming in," he said, adding: "This is about reinforcement, not replacement."

The Cornwallis meeting brought defense officials from the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, Estonia, Romania, Denmark, and the Netherlands – which in total supplied 90 percent of the 18 000 NATO soldiers stationed in southern Afghanistan.

Some 50 000 soldiers from 40 nations are deployed in Afghanistan under the ISAF banner, while 20 000 more are part of a US-led international coalition.

"I think clearly, the RC (Regional Command) South eight countries have been carrying what I would describe as a disproportionate share of the load," Gates commented.

For further reinforcements, the United States is not likely to call on its seven NATO allies already deployed in the south, he said.

"The reality is there are other NATO doors that president-elect (Barack) Obama should be knocking on first," said Gates.

"This is about continuing in a joint UN-backed, NATO-led effort and other countries (not currently in the south) should be under no illusion we are still asking for them to pick up the slack and share this burden," added MacKay.

AFP