NATO leaders ended the alliance's 60th-annivesrary summit by agreeing on a new leader and on an Afghanistan strategy that calls for more resources to train and support the Afghan National Army and police force.
During a closing press conference in Strasbourg, France, on Saturday, current NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer named Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen as his replacement.
"I look very much forward to continuing the good job done by Secretary-General Scheffer in the transformation of NATO to manage the new challenges of the 21st century," Fogh Rasmussen told reporters.
The alliance appeared to overcome concerns from member nation Turkey, which objected to Fogh Rasmussen's candidacy over an incident in 2006, when he defended cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad that appeared in a Danish publication.
Member nations must reach a consensus to choose a new secretary-general.
Scheffer then outlined an agreement that NATO leaders reached that calls for "stronger Afghan ownership and stronger civilian effort" in bringing peace and stability to the war-torn country.
Earlier Saturday, France and Germany indicated that they backed U.S. President Barack Obama's new strategy for the Afghan war, but the two countries resisted requests to send more combat troops to the country.
Obama has pledged thousands more troops to the mission in Afghanistan and his administration has called on other NATO countries to follow suit.
However, European leaders -- and voters -- are wary of expanding a military effort in a country that has become mired in a growing insurgency.
Scheffer said leaders agreed to establish a so-called "NATO training mission Afghanistan," which will oversee high-level training for the Afghan National Army and for the Afghan police.
The training mission will provide trainers and mentors and will also "deploy the forces necessary" to support the upcoming Afghan elections.
"The bottom line is this," Scheffer said. "When it comes to Afghanistan, this summit and this alliance have delivered."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the Canadian government was satisfied with the pledge of training and mentoring resources.
"I'm quite satisfied with that," Harper said during a news conference at the summit's close. "Obviously I'd like to see more, but I think that was realistically what we were going to achieve here."
Earlier Saturday, both French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasized the need for Afghanistan's government and security forces to take more responsibility for the country's stability.
Rather than sending more troops, France and Germany said priority for NATO countries is providing civilian aid and training for Afghan police.
"We need to promote Afghanization," Merkel said.
The new NATO pledge backs away from a strategy that Obama outlined on Friday. He pledged 21,000 U.S. troops to the 38,000 already battling a growing Taliban insurgency.
Even though NATO declined to send more combat troops into Afghanistan, the U.S. president praised the commitment to training as "a strong down payment" toward the country's security.
Despite the differences of opinion, leaders displayed a moment of unity before the summit's second day of meetings. Merkel led two dozen NATO leaders across the Europa Bridge, which separates Germany and France.
The group met French President Nicolas Sarkozy at the halfway point and continued the trip across the bridge, a symbolic gesture that set aside the hostilities that once divided Europe.
In that spirit, Scheffer said the alliance is launching the process to update the 1999 strategic concept, a document that outlines the organization's mandate.
He said the update will be agreed upon at the next NATO summit and will "give direction" for NATO as it faces 21st-century challenges.
Scheffer also appeared to diffuse a rift over relations with Russia.
Obama had used a Saturday speech welcoming Albania and Croatia to NATO to say that the alliance should be open to the idea of welcoming even more new members. However, many NATO countries, particularly Germany and France, are wary of an eastward expansion, fearing that welcoming former Soviet Bloc countries to the alliance will damage relations with Russia.
In his closing remarks on Saturday, Scheffer said NATO must work with Russia on common security interests, such as arms control, anti-piracy and Afghanistan.
"We think that this relationship can deliver more than it has until now if all parties take the necessary steps, and we will engage Russia in that spirit," Scheffer said.
With files from The Associated Press
