NATO began the first operation outside Europe in its 54-year history last Monday when it took command of peacekeepers in the Afghan capital.

At a ceremony in Kabul, German Defence Minister Peter Struck said NATO's job was to ensure Afghanistan did not become a safe haven for terrorism again.

Germany and the Netherlands had held joint command of the 5,000-strong International Security Assistance Force until the handover, which was attended by Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe General James Jones.

At the ceremony, Lt-Gen Norbert van Heyst, outgoing commander of ISAF, transferred command to another German three-star general, Goetz Gliemeroth, from NATO command.

The command is a strategic departure from NATO's cold war role of defending its immediate borders and officials say it stems from post-September 11 perceptions among its 19 members that the alliance needs to deploy where problems arise.

Speaking at a news conference after the ceremony, Jones called it "a signal moment in the history of the alliance".

"We are making a clear statement of transition, which is from the 20th Century defensive bipolar world, into the multi-polar flexible need for rapid response across a myriad of threats," said the general.

It remains unclear how broad a role that NATO will take on in Afghanistan.

The US-backed Afghan government and the UN have repeatedly urged ISAF's expansion into lawless provinces, where factional rivalries and a resurgent Taliban guerrilla movement pose mounting security problems for reconstruction work and elections due to be held next year.

The peacekeeping force's role under NATO will, however, remain confined to the capital.

NATO spokesman Mark Laity said that the alliance was willing to discuss expanding peacekeeping operations beyond Kabul but wanted to settle down in the job first.

While ISAF casualties in the capital have been relatively low, losses would soar in the provinces plagued by unruly militias and guerrillas – who are said to have killed about 100 government soldiers, policemen and officials this year.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Colin Powell pledged to hurry new, large-scale US aid to Afghanistan ahead of next year's elections, as he met UN envoy to Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi. "I conveyed to him our continuing commitment to Afghanistan and that we are looking at ways of accelerating our work with more resources," Powell said, apparently referring to a planned $1 billion injection of US funds to reconstruction. "We are still anxious to see if we can get through the constitutional process this fall with a new constitution and then looking toward elections next year as called for in the Bonn agreement," he said. THE COMPOSITION OF NATO

Some 31 nations now contribute troops to the 5,300-strong force which is helping with security in and around the Afghan capital Kabul, under a United Nations mandate. The following countries provide troops:

Albania: 23

Azerbaijan: 23

Belgium: 241

Britain: 267

Bulgaria: 42

Canada: 1,900

Croatia: 36

Czech Republic: 7

Denmark: 49

Estonia: 6

Finland: 31

France: 548

Germany: 1,500

Greece: 125

Hungary: 11

Iceland: 1

Ireland: 7

Italy: 135

Latvia: 9

Lithuania: 2

Macedonia: 10

Netherlands: 43

New Zealand: 4

Norway: 64

Poland: 12

Romania: 32

Spain: 113

Sweden: 21

Switzerland: 2

Turkey: 163

United States: 110