It is possible that Canadian forces within the NATO contingent in Afghanistan may have to be withdrawn if they do not receive reinforcements on the ground from other members of the alliance.

This was stated by the Canadian PM Stephen Harper in a telephone conversation with Nikola Sarkozy, cited by the Associated Press. The same message has been conveyed to the US President George W. Bush, the British PM Gordon Brown, and the NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Canada has 2,500 troops in the Kandahar area in southern Afghanistan where some of the hardest fighting with Taliban and Al Qaeda forces has occurred, the Times of India reported.

PM Harper warned that his government would allow the mission to expire in 2009, and would not commit any further unless at least 1000 additional troops and additional combat equipment were supplied to the region by other NATO allies.

Harper's warning came in the wake of criticisms by the Bush Administration for some NATO members which declined to expand their military presence in Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice arrived to London in an effort to encourage the sending of more NATO troops to the rebellion-torn country. She pointed out that some of the smaller states in the alliance had their troops stationed in the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan.

As of December 2007 Bulgaria's contingent at NATO's International Security Assistance Force reached 400 troops but they are stationed in Kabul, away from the fighting.

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