LONDON: Britain's Nato allies who refuse to fight in Afghanistan were accused of causing "huge resentment" and a sense of betrayal among UK forces.
With four British soldiers killed within the last week, and the Taliban expected to launch a Spring offensive, senior military figures have called for Nato forces to contribute more or risk fracturing the alliance.
The 60-year-old coalition has come under pressure as countries such as Britain, America and Canada continue to shoulder the burden of the fighting, while others such as Germany and France have held their troops back.
Commanders are angry that despite pleas for reinforcements or to have "operational caveats" removed, some countries are still not heeding their requests.
Tony Blair failed to win a pledge of more fighting troops after he called for European allies to commit to a "maximum collective effort" during a summit in Brussels.
The example of German troops not being allowed to operate at night is one of many caveats that have infuriated Britain's military leaders.
Lord Inge, who was head of the Armed Forces during the 1990s, told The Daily Telegraph that the limitations were making the alliance ineffective.
"When you go on an operation as complex and dangerous as this, where some Nato nations are not playing a full part, it makes the job of a commander much more difficult if he cannot use half the troops. It breaks a fundamental military principle."
Lord Inge added that there was now "huge resentment" among troops who were putting their lives on the line when "others are not".
He said: "It also undermines Nato's credibility in the long term if it cannot respond to operational challenges such as this."
Nato had to be prepared for a "very long haul" of up to 20 years' fighting, he added.
The lack of troops and the caveats issue "reflected very badly on Nato", agreed Lord Guthrie, who was a former head of the Armed Forces and advisor to Mr Blair.
"Considering the amount of people the British have out there they are doing an amazing job but it's a smaller part of the overall picture in Afghanistan," he said.
"Tactically we are winning but the strategic battle is a long way off from being won. That is many years off and we will see if Nato has the stomach to see it through."
Col Tim Collins, who served in Iraq, believes that at the very least other countries should provide more finance for those doing the hard fighting. "Helmand province is no place for defence forces that cannot go out at night without their mothers," he said.
Since the Riga summit last year there have been an extra 7,000 troops pledged, taking the total numbers to 39,000.
Following the announcement last week of a further 1,400 troops, the British contingent will soon top 7,700. | 
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