Secretary General Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen last week in Madrid during an official visit to Spain vowed, “We cannot let terrorists and violent extremists operate from Afghanistan again. NATO’s efforts in the country were not only aimed at defending Afghans, but protecting the populations of Allied and partner countries as well.”

Vigilance learnt that during the visit, the Secretary General met with Spanish King Juan Carlos I, President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Foreign Minister Angel Moratinos and Defence Minister Carme Chacon.

He was full of praise for Spain for its strong commitment to NATO and to Afghanistan, and expressed his condolences to the families and friends who have lost loved ones. Spain has more than 1 500 troops in the country's west, where they are helping pave the way to more services and better governance.

"We have the right strategy and we have finally the resources right to set the stage for transition, starting next year," Rasmussen said. "I hope that the NATO summit in November will make the announcement that we are about to start a process of gradual transition of lead security responsibility to the Afghans."

"The goal is to see the Afghans become the masters in their own house," Rasmussen stressed in a joint press conference with President Zapatero. He added that "we share president Karzai's ambition to see the Afghans taking responsibility all over Afghanistan by the end of 2014.”