General David Petraeus, Nato's newly-appointed commander of the Afghanistan war, briefed alliance officials today about his plans for the escalating conflict.
Officials said Gen Petraeus met with secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen and addressed the North Atlantic Council, the alliance's decision-making body.
Gen Petraeus was expected to calm disquiet among European allies who contribute about a third of the 122,000-strong international force in Afghanistan. Diplomats say member governments were not consulted about the changeover in command after President Barack Obama's sudden dismissal of general Petraeus' predecessor, Gen Stanley McChrystal.
Mr Rasmussen found himself expressing support for Gen McChrystal after the scornful remarks he made to Rolling Stone magazine, only to backtrack the following day and give his backing to president Obama's decision to replace him with Gen Petraeus.
Gen McChrystal's sacking came amid growing disillusionment with the war in Europe, and a spate of bad news from the battlefields.
Allied deaths have doubled in the first six months of this year, with June the deadliest month on record for Nato troops in the nine-year conflict.
Meanwhile, an offensive aimed at retaking control of Kandahar, the biggest city in the south of the country, has been repeatedly delayed.
Nato's plans to train and gradually hand over responsibility to the growing Afghan army and police forces also has run into trouble.
The training programme has been constrained by a lack of trainers, and a recent report by the US special inspector general for Afghanistan found that the US has often overestimated the ability of Afghan security forces to fight on their own.
AP