"It's obvious we're seeing a military metamorphosis of this alliance," US General James Jones, supreme allied commander of NATO forces in Europe told reporters at NATO military headquarters in the Belgian town of Mons.

NATO leaders agreed last November to create a 20,000-men rapid reaction force (NRF) ready to be deployed quickly for combat missions wherever needed and to be fully operational by 2006.

Jones confirmed on Tuesday that the first elements of this force would be operational by the end of the year, a full year earlier than the planned launch date of October 2004.

The force that is to be "fully integrated, responsive, very agile and logistically supportable" is to be discussed by the next meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels June 10-11.

"No one has called me in and said you should develop a global capability per se, but it clearly is something that is being discussed," Jones told reporters.

"The NRF will probably have the capability to do those things that the alliance wishes it to do and if it's going to be in different parts of the world so be it, we will build it that way."

Several NATO members are pushing for a greater role for the Atlantic alliance on the world stage, with some arguing for NATO intervention in Afghanistan and even in Iraq.

In December last year the United States considered a possible NATO role in Iraq after the end of any hostilities there, but the idea was rejected by France and Germany.

Jones, who took over his new functions in January, said on Tuesday he had not received any official or unofficial request as far as Iraq was concerned.

But Jones said earlier this month that, if called upon, the alliance was ready to play a role in leading the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF).

"If the nations wish to have a force which has an out-of-area capability we could build that," he said Tuesday.

Meanhile, it emerged last month that the United States was studying a radical overhaul of its military presence in Europe that would replace its large garrison force and big Cold War-era bases with rotating, expeditionary forces.

But Jones said Tuesday that the overhaul, which would primarily concern Germany where 70,000 US troops are stationed, was not linked to the rift between alliance members over the Iraq war.

"It should never be construed as being done out of pique because our governments are in disagreement" over Iraq, he said, adding: "I'm convinced this is being done for the right reasons, not the wrong reasons."

The dramatic changes to the deployment of US forces in Germany would come as NATO welcomes seven new members from the former Soviet bloc in eastern Europe in 2004.

But Jones said the redeployment would not be meant as punishment for European allies -- such as Germany -- which disagree with the hardline US stance on Iraq.

"The types of basing that we're thinking of are not in my opinion in violation of any agreements because this will not be large, permanent strategic bases (...) these are more foward operating bases", he said. "These will be small units."

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