NATO and other foreign allies have expressed reluctance to send more soldiers because of the Afghan war’s growing unpopularity in their countries and increasing concerns over corruption in Hamid Karzai’s government.

The Obama administration views a substantial contribution from its allies as a way to keep the US troop increase lower and blunt domestic political criticism of the Afghan war. It would also allow the administration to come close to the military’s request for 40,000 additional troops without relying totally on the already stretched US armed forces.

After weeks of deliberation, Obama will formally announce how many extra American troops he will commit to Afghanistan in a national address on Tuesday. Administration officials say that a strong speech, explaining Obama’s strategy for achieving success, would provide them fresh ammunition to galvanize support in foreign capitals.

In Britain, which has pledged an additional 500 troops, Defense Secretary Bob Ainsworth said on Tuesday that Obama has taken too long to decide on a new strategy, harming his government’s ability to rally public support for the war. Germany and France have balked at committing any more forces to a war that has so little public support they can barely maintain current troop levels.

The Netherlands and Canada have begun discussing plans to pull out. Canadian defence officials told reporters traveling with Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Halifax last week that they had no intention of sending troops in the future, and that they remain committed to withdrawing by the end of 2011. NYT

German military chief resigns over Afghan air strike

BERLIN: The head of the German armed forces Wolfgang Schneiderhan has resigned over reports that the military withheld information about a September 4 air strike in Afghanistan believed to have killed dozens of civilians. The strike, ordered by a German commander and carried out by a US F-15 fighter, was the most deadly operation involving German troops since WWII, killing 69 Taliban fighters and 30 civilians, said the Afghan government.

Germany’s Bild newspaper reported on Thursday that videos and a secret military report had pointed to civilian casualties at the time the government and military was denying them.