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Defence Minister Peter MacKay dealt with a case of diplomatic friendly fire Wednesday and was forced to defend the inadvertent criticism of his U.S. counterpart about the quality of NATO forces fighting in southern Afghanistan.

The reported comments by U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates rankled allies around the world and touched a raw nerve in Canada at a time when the Conservative government is trying to convince a reluctant public that the Kandahar mission should continue in some form.

In a Los Angeles Times article, Mr. Gates complained about NATO troops in southern Afghanistan not knowing how to fight a guerrilla insurgency and referred to allies that have sent significant numbers of combat troops to fight, often in the "face of widespread opposition at home."

British, Canadian and Dutch troops are spearheading the fight in southern Afghanistan.

Mr. MacKay emphatically denied the criticism was aimed at Canada and that Mr. Gates telephoned to apologize for any unintended slight, claiming the remarks were misinterpreted.

"You'll note there's no reference to Canada in that statement," Mr. MacKay said, answering reporters' questions after announcing a new deal for military cargo planes.

"I take him at his word. If there's further explanation as to who he was referring to — or the specifics of that comment, you'd have to direct them to him."

Mr. MacKay insisted Mr. Gates had nothing but praise for Canadian soldiers, of whom 77 have died in fighting since 2002. The latest casualty happened Tuesday north of Kandahar.

U.S. officials in Washington explained Wednesday that Mr. Gates was not referring to any particular country but to the alliance as a whole.

Mr. Gates's spokesman Geoff Morrell did not challenge the accuracy of the quotes in the story, but said he thought it left the wrong impression.

"For the record he did not — to the L.A. Times or at any time otherwise — publicly ever criticize any single country for their performance in or commitment to the mission in Afghanistan," Mr. Morrell told reporters.

Instead, Mr. Morrell said Mr. Gates had pointed out that "NATO as an alliance does not train for counterinsurgency. The alliance has never had to do it before."

Regardless, NATO allies reacted with surprise and disbelief.

The Dutch Defence Ministry summoned the U.S. ambassador to its country for an explanation and there were complaints from a British parliamentarian.

Further injury may have been done with the suggestion that Mr. Gates's principle concern is that NATO is sending "improperly trained 16-20 operational mentoring and liaison teams — known as OMLTs — to conduct training for Afghan army and police forces."

Canada has been a leading proponent of the unique training regime and was a driving force behind the alliance's acceptance of the concept.

Mr. MacKay brushed aside the comments and suggested Mr. Gates does see the value of the training system, where allied soldiers mentor their Afghan colleagues in field under fire, as opposed to pastoral training grounds.

Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre says at the very least the comments smack of insensitivity in light of the death of a Canadian soldier north of Kandahar on Tuesday.

"We are paying the price in lives," he said. "Our men and women know how to fight. We need to know who he was talking about; which countries."

New Democrats, who are opposed to the war and demanded an immediate withdrawal of troops, described the comments as "totally inappropriate" and predicted they'll make selling an extension to the mission even more difficult for Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

"We already know the majority of Canadians are very uncomfortable with the combat role in southern Afghanistan and certainly Mr. Gates's comments will do nothing to help the Harper government convince Canadians that this is a role we should be playing," said Dawn Black, the party's defence critic.

Feelings among NATO allies are already bruised as the alliance continues to bicker over the reluctance of some European members to commit forces to confront the Taliban in the south.

Mr. MacKay didn't downplay the differences.

"(Secretary Gates) has concerns and I have concerns about other NATO countries and their capacity and willingness to do more," he said.

"We're not trying to provoke an argument or divide the alliance in any way, or cause internal consternation. What we're trying to do is see that this mission succeeds. That means NATO all for one and one for all."

The State Department was dragged into the damage control exercise, where spokesman Sean McCormack confirmed the U.S. ambassador had a discussion with the Dutch defence minister but denied that it was a "finger-wagging sessions and that it got emotional. It wasn't . . . It was the defence minister looking for clarification of the comments.

"Look, we very much value the contributions of the Dutch armed forces and the sacrifices of the Dutch people in sending their young men and women to Afghanistan, in Uruzgan province . . . It's a tough environment. They're doing a good job."

But in Britain, Conservative legislator Patrick Mercer said Mr. Gates's reported comments were "bloody outrageous."

"I would beg the Americans to understand that we are their closest allies, and our men are bleeding and dying in large numbers," said Mr. Mercer, a former British infantry officer.

"These sorts of things are just not helpful among allied nations."

The United States has regularly criticized Germany, France, Italy and other allies that refuse to allow their troops in Afghanistan to join U.S. forces on the front line against the Taliban in the insurgents' southern strongholds.

NATO's Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer moved quickly to defend the allied troops. "All the countries that are in the south do an excellent job. Full stop," he said at NATO headquarters.

Privately, several NATO officials were aghast at Mr. Gates's reported comments, fearing they would add to tension within the alliance where Britain, Canada and the Netherlands have generally stood by Washington in urging more reluctant allies to do more in the fight against the Taliban.

A senior military officer from one country heavily engaged in the southern fighting said Canadians and Europeans had scored major successes against the Taliban. "They have been dealt a severe blow by the very people (Gates) appears to talking about," said the officer.

Canada has about 2,500 troops involved in the Afghan mission, most of them in the southern province of Kandahar.