BUCHAREST, ROMANIA — NATO is unlikely to immediately put Ukraine and Georgia on a course toward membership, the group's spokesman said Wednesday night, dealing a setback to President Bush, who has pushed hard to expand the 26-nation alliance to include the two countries on Russia's southern flank that had been part of the Soviet Union.
However, NATO and Bush administration officials presented the question of taking the first steps that could lead to the two countries joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a matter not of whether, but when, as the alliance began a summit in the Romanian capital. NATO is facing controversies that go to the heart of its changing makeup and mission as it nears its seventh decade.
France, along with Germany, opposed placing Ukraine and Georgia on the multi-step path toward membership, but at the same time, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said that the French agreed to boost their troop deployment in Afghanistan by a battalion, reflecting the new energy that Bush has sought within the alliance for Western military efforts there.
Bush expressed optimism that NATO would get behind his plan to set up a missile defense system in Central Europe -- another of his top goals this week in Europe. The summit, like many stops in a final presidential year of nearly monthly trips overseas, is a key opportunity for Bush to lock in international support for his agenda.
Speaking with reporters after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and before an opening dinner, Bush said, "I feel good about what I'm hearing from my fellow leaders about their desire to support Afghanistan."
Still, the support on offer appeared to fall short of what the Pentagon says is needed.
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in Washington on Wednesday that NATO commanders needed as many as two additional combat brigades -- 7,500 soldiers -- as well as 3,000 military trainers to meet current needs. The French offer would be for about 700 to 800 troops.
"We've had a significant impact there, but we don't have enough forces there to hold [ground] in what is a classic counterinsurgency," said Navy Adm. Michael G. Mullen at a Pentagon news conference. "That's what we need."
Mullen said the extra military personnel would be in addition to any commitments made by NATO leaders at this week's summit and probably would have to come from the United States.
