United States Vice-President Dick Cheney made another unannounced visit in the Middle East. This time he visited Afghanistan on Thursday where he met with President Hamid Karzai to provide some support to the country’s fragile government.

Cheney, who had made another surprise visit in Iraq yesterday, made today’s visit after the United States urged its NATO partners to grant more troops and support in Afghanistan. It’s his fourth vice presidential trip to Afghanistan.

During his meeting with the Afghani President, Cheney discussed with Karzai the major issue of “progress in a democratic Afghanistan,” according to Lea Anne McBride, Cheney’s spokeswoman.

Most analysts said that the Afghan mission is the hardest ever faced by NATO in its 59-year history. It has lead to open divergences among allies regarding the tactics to be used and the number of troops to be deployed.

The above mentioned issues will be discussed by allies at the next NATO summit scheduled to take place in early April in Bucharest, Romania.

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan has deployed approximately 43,000 troops.

The soldiers from Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and the United States clash almost daily with Taliban militants, while the troops deployed by France, Spain, Germany and Italy are stationed in more tranquil parts of Afghanistan.

At least 8,000 people died in Afghanistan last year, making 2007 the year with the biggest death toll since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in 2001 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

However, a tough year lies ahead for those fighting in Afghanistan. The Taliban Islamist militants said they plan on carrying out more suicide attacks in 2008 in Kabul as an attempt to break the NATO’s will to continue the fight in Afghanistan and maybe force them to withdraw.

NATO is currently trying to deploy more troops in Afghanistan, but most countries that are members of the alliance are reuctant.