BBC
Nato's top commander, General James Jones, has urged member countries to provide reinforcements to the mission in southern Afghanistan.
He admitted the military alliance had been taken aback by the extent of violence in the region.
But he predicted that the coming weeks would be decisive in the fight against Islamist Taleban guerrillas.
Commanders on the ground had asked for several hundred additional troops and more helicopters and airlift, he said.
"We are talking about modest reinforcements," he told reporters at Nato European headquarters in Belgium.
Several Nato soldiers, most of them British or Canadian, have been killed in fierce fighting with Taleban guerrillas since the alliance extended its peacekeeping mission to the south a month ago.
Nato troops took over leadership of military operations in the region from the US.
Gen Jones is due to meet generals from the 26 Nato nations this weekend in Warsaw, Poland.
The US marine general said he would initially ask for reinforcements from existing contributors to the 37-nation International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), including Germany, which has several thousand troops in the calmer north of the country.
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