Brussels: US officials say Defence Secretary Robert Gates pointedly prodded five allied nations on Wednesday to share more of the burden of the NATO-led air campaign against Libya.
They say none committed to do more. Officials say Gates used his final NATO meeting before retirement to press Germany and Poland to join the military intervention, and Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands to contribute to strike missions against ground targets.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting of the alliance's defence ministers.
Gates pressured the long-standing US allies at a time of intensified airstrikes against Muammar Gaddafi's forces and his compound in the capital.
Gaddafi has vowed to fight to the death in Libya, and Western officials cannot say how long the nearly three-month campaign will continue.
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