Afghanistan, Kosovo, missile defense on agenda as Bush meets with NATO chief

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- A relaxed President Bush welcomed NATO's top diplomat to his ranch Sunday for talks to be dominated by the surging violence in Afghanistan.Bush and first lady Laura Bush greeted Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and his wife, Jeannine, in late afternoon sunshine after the guests arrived by helicopter.

"A little slice of heaven," Bush said of his 1,600-acre getaway from Washington.
The president, in blue jeans and cowboy boats, then climbed in his extended-cab pickup truck and drove drove the couples to the Bushes' house down the road -- men in the front seat, women in the back seat.The invitation for an overnight stay at the ranch is considered a coup, a way for the White House to underscore its commitment to NATO and its leader, de Hoop Scheffer.

Afghanistan's struggles, NATO's role in Kosovo and U.S. plans for a missile defense system in Europe all were likely to be discussed Monday morning.First, though, the leaders and their spouses were to dine Sunday over pecan smoked beef tenderloin, green chili cheese grits souffle and roasted asparagus.Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were among the dignitaries joining them.

In Afghanistan, more than 1,600 people have been killed in insurgency-related violence this year, according to U.S., NATO and Afghan figures. The mounting civilian death toll has fueled distrust of international forces and U.S.-backed President Hamid Karzai."It's a very high priority for us, just on a humanitarian level," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said Sunday about the civilian casualties. "It's a high priority for us on a hearts-and-minds level: We don't want to see any erosion of support from the civilian population."Fratto said the blame lies with Taliban militants who use civilians as shields. "This is a clear, express tactic of the enemy to put civilians in harm's way," he said.The role of the 26-nation alliance in the war in Afghanistan remains a sensitive matter.

The Bush administration is urging some European allies to provide more troops to fight Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan and to lift restrictions on how and where soldiers can fight.Politicians in the United States, Canada, Britain and other nations with troops in the south have been annoyed by the reluctance of some European allies to commit extra soldiers to the roughly 37,000-strong NATO force -- in particular to be deployed to the Taliban's heartland.A suicide bomber detonated himself in a crowded market on Sunday in the eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 14 people and wounding 31. That blast in Gardez came a day after a suicide bomber in northern Afghanistan killed three German soldiers and seven civilians.The discussions also were to address the status of Kosovo, a poor region under U.N. administration since 1999.

The U.S backs a U.N. resolution to ratify the province's independence from Serbia, but that plan is opposed by Russia, a permanent member of the Security Council with veto power.Moscow has opposed successive enlargements of NATO into Eastern Europe. NATO's likely expansion into the Balkans does not please Russia, but the Kremlin has shown even more concern about the prospect that neighbors Ukraine and Georgia may be brought into the alliance.Russia is also critical of U.S. plans to install radar and interceptors in Eastern Europe as part of a missile defense program, another source of growing tension between the countries.