"I think there will be more NATO soldiers in Afghanistan after the summit," Gade told reporters following meetings in Washington with US defense chief Robert Gates and other officials.

"It might be a raise of a thousand-plus," he said.

But Gade called on NATO and the European Union to put up more troops, funds and other support for Afghanistan's security and reconstruction, saying that Europe had forgotten the reason for intervention in Afghanistan -- the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington.

"People have forgotten 9/11, at least in Europe," he said.

"We should never forget we are there to prevent a new 9/11."

Earlier this year Canada, which has some 2,500 troops in Afghanistan, threatened to pull out unless other NATO members offered more manpower and equipment for the 42,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.

On Thursday Canada's parliament voted on Thursday to extend its troop deployment for another three years in Kandahar, where there has been heavy fighting against resurgent forces of the radical Islamist Taliban, provided NATO sends 1,000 reinforcements, drones and helicopters to bolster Canada's troops.

Gade said Europe needed to provide more training support for Afghanistan security forces, pointing out that the EU has provided 1,800 people for a European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) mission to Kosovo, while the ESDP mission in much-larger Afghanistan is only 180-strong.

He said an international conference on development aid for Afghanistan in late June in Paris needs to come up with more support for rebuilding the country.

European leaders "should step up to the plate," he said.

Denmark has more than 700 troops in Afghanistan, mostly under British command in southern Helmand province.

The country has lost 10 soldiers in combat and accidents in the country since 2002.

Gade also defended Danish media's freedom to publish of cartoons satirizing the Muslim prophet Mohammed.

In February at least 17 Danish dailies reprinted a drawing featuring Mohammed's head with a turban designed to look like a bomb, sparking protests by Muslims in Denmark and Afghanistan, where there were calls for Denmark to remove its troops.

Gade said the cartoons were "being misused by people who don't want foreign troops in Afghanistan," saying those people were effectively supporting the Taliban.

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