The commander of international forces in Afghanistan, US General David McKiernan, said Sunday that the West had not lost the war against Islamic insurgents but more troops and equipment were needed to tackle the rebels.

McKiernan commands about 70,000 mainly Western international soldiers deployed in Afghanistan to fight an insurgency led by remnants of the Taliban which was toppled from government seven years ago.

Since then, the insurgency has increased every year, raising concerns in the troop-contributing countries that the mission here is failing.

"We are not losing in Afghanistan," the four-star US general, who commands both the 40-nation NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and the separate US-led coalition, told reporters in Kabul.

"The insurgency will not win in this country. The vast majority of people who live here do not want the Taliban," he added.

Reacting to recent Western media reports about failures of international military operations in Afghanistan, the general said "I absolutely reject that idea, and I don't believe it."

But the general said he needed more troops and military gear, including helicopters, to speed up the war against insurgents.

"We have insufficient security forces to adequately provide for the security of the people of Afghanistan," he said.

Besides soldiers, there were needs "such as helicopters, such as ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance), such as logistics and transportation, civil affairs or other capabilities," the general added.

He called on alliance countries to provide him with the necessary troops and equipment.

Western troops arrived in Afghanistan when a US-led international coalition ousted the Taliban regime in late 2001 in retaliation to the 9/11 attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda, then based in Afghanistan.

Since being thrown from power, the Taliban have been fighting back against government and foreign troops in an insurgency which has accelerated in the past two years.

related report
US may rely more on Afghanistan's tribal militia: report
Frustrated by a potential failure in Afghanistan, the United States is scrambling to forge a new strategy expanding tribal militias' power, The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

While relying less on the central government in Kabul, "US forces would scale back combat operations to focus more on training Afghan government forces and tribal militias," the report said.

"The plan is controversial because it could extend the influence of warlords while undermining the government of President Hamid Karzai," it said, noting that such a plan also could stoke rivalries between security units in Afghanistan.

But "the US military's willingness to consider such risks reflects the growing worry about worsening conditions in Afghanistan," the report added.

"Until recently, the military would not have considered a move to bolster tribal militias, but, with relatively few troops available, military leaders believe only a new approach to the war can stanch the spreading violence."

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he has urged NATO allies to temporarily increase force levels in Afghanistan next year to protect the 2009 presidential elections.

The elections, which are supposed to be held in late 2009, will be a key test of the viability of a struggling, seven-year-old US and NATO-led effort to build a democratically elected central government in Afghanistan.

US commanders in Afghanistan have asked for four more combat brigades and support troops -- as many as 20,000 more troops -- to counter the insurgency.

The United States has some 33,000 troops in Afghanistan, about 13,000 of them in a 50,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.