US Defense Secretary Robert Gates slammed NATO nations for what he said were shortages in military spending, saying there would be “a dim if not dismal future” unless more member nations scaled up their participation in the allian

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates slammed NATO nations for what he said were shortages in military spending, saying there would be “a dim if not dismal future” unless more member nations scaled up their participation in the alliance’s activities.

Gates who is to retire at the end of this month said: "The mightiest military alliance in history is only 11 weeks into an operation against a poorly armed regime in a sparsely populated country.
"Yet many allies are beginning to run short of munitions, requiring the US, once more, to make up the difference”, Gates said in Brussels in his final policy speech as Pentagon chief.

He added that alliance-led operations in Afghanistan and Libya were "serious" examples of shortcomings in the allies' military capabilities and political will.
Gates also warned of "a real possibility for a dim, if not dismal future for the transatlantic alliance".
He criticized "a lack of will, much of it from a lack of resources in an era of austerity" where the US is left to bridge the gaps.

NATO's campaign in Libya had "laid bare" the alliance's shortcomings, even though it is a "mission in Europe's neighborhood deemed to be in Europe's vital interest", Gates , a 67-year-old former CIA chief who has served four and a half years as defense secretary said.