US President George W. Bush pushed NATO allies on Monday to share more of the burdens of battle in Afghanistan and deplored the deaths of Afghan civilians in alliance air strikes.
While lamenting the civilian deaths, Bush and visiting NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, after talks at the president's Texas ranch, blamed the losses on Taliban tactics.
"We grieve with you," Bush told Afghans who had lost loved ones.
Scheffer called such casualties "unavoidable" but stressed that any civilian death is "one too many" and said there was a moral chasm between NATO and the Islamist militia.
"We don't behead people. We don't burn schools. We don't kill teachers. We don't plant roadside bombs," he said. "Look at the number of Afghanistan civilians killed by the Taliban and by our opposing forces."
The two leaders also insisted on the need for NATO unity in the face of the Taliban resurgence.
Amid painful Russia-NATO tensions, Bush promised to reach out to persuade Moscow that a planned US missile defense system in eastern Europe is aimed at "other nations" that could target Europe.
But Afghan anger at NATO strikes that have killed civilians and demolished homes loomed large over the meeting, amid complaints from Kabul and worries in Washington that such attacks may carry a high price in public support.
"To the Afghan families that have been affected by the Taliban using them as shields, you know, we have great sympathy," Bush said. "We do not have sympathy, however, for the tactics of the Taliban."
UN and Afghan investigations have found that NATO strikes have killed civilians, including women and children, while Afghan President Hamid Karzai has warned that his people's patience "is wearing thin" with such incidents.
"Let me tell you one thing: We are not in the same moral category as our opponents, as the Taliban in Afghanistan," said Scheffer, who told reporters that NATO operations still enjoy majority support there.
"We still have very much the hearts and minds of the Afghan people," he said. "Every innocent civilian fatality, death, is one too many. But in a conflict, it is, from time to time, unavoidable."
Bush signaled that he would keep pushing other North Atlantic Treaty Organization members to provide more manpower and lift restrictions some impose on their troops engaging in battle.
"Afghanistan is still one of the front lines in our fight against terrorism, and it is my strong conviction that that front line should not become a fault line," Scheffer said.
About 37,000 NATO-led troops are in Afghanistan, including 15,000 US soldiers. Another 12,000 US soldiers operate separately under their own command.
On missile defense, Bush promised: "I will continue to reach out to Russia."
"This missile shield is not directed at them, but, in fact, directed at other nations that could conceivably affect the peace of Europe," he said.
The two leaders also discussed the final status of Kosovo, where NATO has about 16,000 troops, as well as issues related to the alliance's eastward expansion -- both sore points in relations with Russia.
Countries that may join the alliance include Albania, Croatia and Macedonia.
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