NATO's top commander of operations said today he doubted whether the alliance would have enough troops to declare a long-heralded rapid reaction force fully operational in October as planned.
A delay to the 25,000-strong NATO Response Force (NRF) would be a setback to US-backed efforts to turn the alliance that was Europe's Cold War protector into an outfit able to launch itself into crisis spots around the world at days' notice.
NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. James Jones, in an interview with Reuters at a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Sicily, said NATO allies still had not come up with the final 25 percent of the troops due to serve in the force.
"The reason I'm not confident is it isn't resourced now," Jones said, when asked if he was confident it would be fully operational by October.
"As things stand now, I can't say that, missing 25 percent of a force, that I have a great deal of confidence that we're going to generate 25 percent as if by magic. I'm hoping to get there," he added.
One observer at the talks said US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had offered US troops to help plug the gap. Rumsfeld did not allude to any promise at a final news conference but said he was confident the NRF would start on time at full strength.
Washington previously held back from offering many troops because it wants European allies to provide the bulk of the NRF. Major contributors currently include Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Norway