Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai (L) shakes hands with NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, General John Craddock during a meeting with North Atlantic Council participants in Kabul March 18, 2009. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said on Wednesday an additional four battalions, some 4,000 troops, were needed to provide security for Afghan elections in August.

REUTERS/Syed Jan Sabawoon/Pool