Kabul, Afghanistan ? Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Sunday that he would like NATO to expand its operations in Afghanistan, where a surge of violence linked to Taliban guerrillas has deepened concerns about the future stability of the government.

Speaking alongside President Hamid Karzai during a brief visit to Afghanistan, Rumsfeld said he agreed that it would be a good idea for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force to extend its mandate beyond Kabul.

But with the United States scrambling to find nations to share in peacekeeping duties in Iraq, it seems unlikely there will be much effort to find new forces for Afghanistan.

“For whatever reason there have not been many countries lining up to expand ISAF,” Rumsfeld said. However, he added, “there is at least a possibility” that the 5,000-member force, which helps maintain security in Kabul, could be expanded.

The United States has about 8,500 military personnel in Afghanistan, part of a separate coalition force of 11,500 that is hunting members of the terror network al-Qaida and remnants of the former Taliban regime.

On his last visit to Afghanistan, in May, Rumsfeld declared that major combat operations were over and that the focus of the U.S. military would turn to reconstruction.

But since then a rejuvenated Taliban has made its presence felt across southern and eastern Afghanistan through guerrilla attacks targeting aid workers and government officials.

Karzai said the reappearance of the Taliban was a major concern to his government, struggling to broaden its mandate beyond Kabul. Although the capital is secure, growing lawlessness elsewhere in the country, some of which is linked to the Taliban, has intensified calls for more international troops.

“We are definitely concerned about the increased activity of Taliban,” Karzai said.

Amid concerns that Karzai’s hold is under threat, the Bush administration is planning a big increase in aid to Afghanistan. The United States spends about $900 million a year on aid. There are plans to spend about $1 billion more on aid in the next year.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, left, and Afghan President Hamid Karzai talk during a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. Rumsfeld said at Sunday's conference that more NATO security support would help control new outbreaks of violence in the country.