美国国防部长盖茨警告北约成员国说，他们必须增加对北约承担的防务开支。
盖茨星期五在布鲁塞尔的北约总部做出上述表示。预计这将是盖茨本月底退休之前最后一次发表重要政策讲话。他说，美国议员们对于美国承担北约四分之三的防务开支一事正在失去耐心。
盖茨指出，所有北约28个成员国都投票支持实施针对利比亚领导人卡扎菲的使命，但参与行动的成员国还不到一半。盖茨说，北约成员国不愿或不能做出贡献还影响到在阿富汗的行动。
他表示，北约只有“非常尽力，有时甚至是拼命”的时候才能维持在阿富汗的4万5千驻军。盖茨说，完成在阿富汗的使命必须统一步伐，而不是按照每个成员国的国内财政状况来行动。
如果其他成员国不能增加对已有60年历史的北约的贡献，盖茨说，未来的美国政府可能认为美国对北约的投资得不偿失。盖茨表示，在军事上，阿富汗正在取得重大进展。如果向阿富汗政府全部移交安全责任的过程不能以审慎、有组织的协调方式进行，盖茨说，这些进展就会受到威胁。
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has warned NATO members that they must increase their defense spending commitments to the alliance.
Gates spoke at NATO headquarters in Brussels Friday, in what is expected to be his last major policy speech before retiring at the end of the month. He said U.S. lawmakers are losing patience with covering three-quarters of defense spending for the coalition.
Gates noted that all 28 NATO members voted for the mission against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but fewer than half have participated.
He said unwillingness or inability to contribute has also affected operations in Afghanistan, where he said the coalition has "struggled, at times desperately" to sustain a deployment of up to 45,000 troops.
He said finishing the mission in Afghanistan must be done in a united way, not dictated by each member's domestic financial situation.
And he said if other nations fail to step up their contributions to the more than 60-year-old transatlantic alliance, future U.S. administrations might not consider the return on its investment worth the cost.
Gates said Thursday that substantial military progress is being made on the ground in Afghanistan, but warned that those gains could be threatened if the transition to full Afghan government control of security is not made in a deliberate, organized and coordinated manner.
