Bolstering Troops

Koenigs told Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung that the international troops serving in Afghanistan had reached a key crossroads.

"The conflict cannot be won by military means alone but NATO must not lose it," he said, calling for an "enormous military effort" against insurgents in the country.

He said that while diplomatic and humanitarian aid was essential, attacks mounted by the hard-line Taliban movement and other militants had to be stopped.

"Otherwise the entire NATO alliance is absurd and not usable for peacekeeping in the Third World," he said.

"Germany must increase efforts further"

Koenigs, a German citizen, called for German troops to join NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the violence-plagued south of Afghanistan.

Amid growing pressure for Germany to help stabilize the region, the German military said Wednesday that 21 signals corps soldiers had been deployed to southern Afghanistan in mid-October for two months.

The Bundeswehr has the third largest ISAF contingent with nearly 2,900 soldiers. It holds the ISAF command in the north of the country.

ISAF commanders have said they are stretched in their fight against the resurgent militants and need more manpower and equipment to fight a stronger- than-expected campaign.

The violence has peaked this year. More than 3,000 people have been killed, most of them rebels said to be with the Taliban, which was forced from government in late 2001 in a US-led invasion.