NATO's new Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen insisted Friday that more troops were needed in Afghanistan if the alliance was to complete a successful handover of security to local forces. NATO would need to step up military efforts in the coming years as well as boosting civil reconstruction, Rasmussen told BBC radio from Kabul. "Honestly speaking, I think we need more troops," the former Danish prime minister said. "I have seen progress in the south, not least thanks to the increase in the number of troops. So definitely the number of troops matters. "However, we also have to realise that there is no military solution solely.