The comments by the NATO secretary general, in an opinion piece for The Washington Post newspaper, was an unusually strong expression of the alliance's dissatisfaction with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

De Hoop Scheffer did not mention Karzai by name, but his remarks come at a politically sensitive time for the Afghan leader.

Karzai is due for re-election this year, and observers believe an open rift with NATO could substantially weaken him ahead of yet-to-be-scheduled polls.

Analyzing the situation in the country seven years after the toppling of the Taliban regime, De Hoop Scheffer argued that Afghan and their Western allies "are not where we might have hoped to be by now."

While the country's North and West were largely at peace, the South and East were "riven by insurgency, drugs and ineffective government," he wrote.

Adopting a harsher tone, the NATO leader went on to insist that "the basic problem in Afghanistan is not too much Taliban; it's too little good governance.

"Afghans need a government that deserves their loyalty and trust; when they have it, the oxygen will be sucked away from the insurgency," he added.

De Hoop Scheffer said the international community must still step up its support for Afghanistan.

"But we have paid enough, in blood and treasure, to demand that the Afghan government take more concrete and vigorous action to root out corruption and increase efficiency, even where that means difficult political choices."

Between 60,000 and 70,000 foreign troops are in Afghanistan, about three-quarters of them under NATO command, to help the government of President Karzai tackle the mounting Taliban-led insurgency.

Another 20,000 to 30,000 more US soldiers are due to begin deploying in the coming weeks, as US president-elect Barack Obama has pledged to make Afghanistan his central front in the war on terror.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force comprises over 51,000 troops from nearly 40 countries.

Most of them are deployed in the South and East, where Taliban militants are most active.

But as he underscored the importance of Afghanistan for the West, De Hoop Scheffer also hinted that the patience of NATO member-nations might not be limitless.

"The populations in countries that have contributed troops to the NATO-led mission are wondering how long this operation must last -- and how many young men and women we will lose carrying it out," he wrote.

Signs of brewing disaffection between the West and the Karzai government began appearing last June, when The New York Times reported that US officials were growing increasingly frustrated with the current Afghan president. They argued he was not up to addressing Afghanistan's many troubles.

The officials expressed particular frustration over his Karzai's refusal to arrest drug lords who are running the country's opium trade. Many international observers believe the Taliban have used this trade to fuel their comeback, according to the report.

Hillary Clinton, nominated by Obama to be the next US secretary of state, expressed similar sentiments on Capitol Hill last week.

"Afghanistan needs a government more able to take care of its people's needs," she said during her Senate confirmation hearing.

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