Clinton US to raise heat on Syria if violence goes on

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Syria was at a turning point and that Washington would ratchet up pressure on President Bashar al-Assad if violence continued there.    

Clinton was speaking at a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels, where she was asked about action to halt bloodshed in the year-long popular uprising against Assad.

Furthermore, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he saw an "emerging agreement" among the alliance's members on what role they would play in Afghanistan once that country's forces take charge of security by 2015.    

Speaking during a meeting of NATO allies in Brussels, Rasmussen said a number of member states had already pledged the size of their financial contributions to help the Afghan government maintain security forces after 2014.    

"I am very pleased that a number of allies announced today concrete financial contributions to Afghan security forces in the future," he told a news conference, without specifying which countries or the amounts pledged.    

Addressing photographs that appeared in an American newspaper of U.S. soldiers posing with the maimed bodies of dead Afghan insurgents, Rasmussen said: "I strongly condemn these photos and these acts ... I hope there will be no spillover."    

He also said NATO member Turkey has made no request for help in dealing with violence on its border with Syria, but that NATO was ready to consult on any security issues according to its rules.

Reuters