Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of all foreign troops in Afghanistan, wants to see more engagement and a greater willingness to take risks from NATO states fighting in the country. He would also like to see German soldiers establish better contact with locals.

Stanley McChrystal, the American Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, is calling for an intensification and fundamental strategic shift in the deployment of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr, in the country.

In an interview with Germany's mass-circulation Bild newspaper published on Wednesday, Gen. McChrystal said he would announce his requests at the prestigious Munich Security Conference in February, which draws political leaders and military experts from around the world. McChrystal is also planning to appear before German members of parliament responsible for the Afghanistan mission to promote the new U.S. strategy. Currently, the Bundestag - which controls the German mandate in Afghanistan - places the highest priority on the protection of the civilian population.

In the Bild interview, McChrystal said that during his Munich visit he would request more troops and that he would call on all members of the alliance to "provide additional teachers to help run the training bases" where Afghan security forces are trained.

In the run-up to next week's Afghanistan conference in London, he asked NATO member states "to look and see what they can provide so that we can get the right level of force to partner with the Afghans in each area."