From Voice of America: General [John] Craddock said NATO leaders need to limit their goals or provide the forces to achieve them. He said during his tenure as the top NATO military officer the alliance’s top political body, the North Atlantic Council, would decide on a mission, unanimously as required, and approve his military plan. But he said that’s where the problems would start.

‘So the next step in that is we turn around and we have to generate the forces. So we hold a force-generation conference. And invariably what happens is the nations are unwilling to commit the resources to do what they collectively told us to do,’ he said.

The general said NATO took responsibility for security operations throughout Afghanistan three years ago with only half the capability it needed. He said a more recent effort to enhance the alliance’s anti-piracy mission off the coast of Somalia resulted in the generation of absolutely no additional forces . . .

“NATO needs to decide where it may want to focus, how much it wants to focus, and do so recognizing the fact there are limitations with regard to military contributions. Seventy-three thousand of our NATO forces are out on current operations. Our force pool is a force puddle.