BRUSSELS, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Monday urged European allies to commit troops, or at least civilian assistance to NATO's operations in Afghanistan, in response to pledges by incoming U.S. President Barack Obama to send in more U.S. soldiers.

    "(The year) 2009, as you know, will see an infusion of United States forces in this operation. I strongly hope that we also see the other allies step up with more forces and, when that's not possible, with more civilian aid, development cooperation, reconstruction aid," de Hoop Scheffer told a New Year reception.

    It is politically healthy for the alliance if there is a fair sharing of the burdens among all allies, he said. "So the potential U.S. decision to send in more forces should be matched by other allies, be it in the military, or be it in the civilian domain."

    Obama has indicated a shift of priority from Iraq to Afghanistan and would back a Pentagon plan to almost double the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The United States currently has 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, part of whom are under NATO command.

    The new influx of U.S. troops would make European contributions pale in comparison. The largest European troops contributor, Britain, has about 8,900 soldiers. Although Germany, France and Italy combined have some 8,600 troops, these countries have chosen not to be directly involved in fight with the Taliban.

    De Hoop Scheffer also urged the Afghan government to improve governance with concrete results in the fight against corruption. In a Washington Post article published on Sunday, de Hoop Scheffer launched a scathing attack on the Afghan government, saying that the problem in Afghanistan was not too much Taliban insurgency, but too little good governance.

    On Monday, de Hoop Scheffer argued that candid criticisms should be allowed between friends and that Afghan President Harmid Karzai should not be angry. He said he took Karzai's criticisms on NATO's civilian casualties in Afghanistan.

    NATO is leading a 55,000-strong International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. But the troops are not enough to curb the insurgency.