"It's a good idea ... I think it's the right way ahead," Jones told a press conference at NATO's European military command in the southern city of Mons.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization took over the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) last year, but has struggled to expand it out of the Afghan capital Kabul.

The UN-mandated ISAF, which was beefed up temporarily for October 9 presidential elections in the war-scarred country, currently comprises some 9,000 troops.

The United States has pressed its allies to study a possible merger of commands of ISAF and its own Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which carries out frontline combat missions against the Taliban in the southeast of the country.

A merger, which is opposed by France and Germany on the grounds that the two missions are different, would help "eliminate force redundancies," Jones said.

"We will have to come up with a solution that is acceptable to all 26 which takes into account the sensitivies of some countries to combat," Jones said.

"As a general philosophy ... it's always better to integrate if you can."

Asked about the expansion of ISAF projects in western Afghanistan, Jones said: "I would hope we see something by the spring at the latest."

In June NATO confirmed the establishment of five provincial reconstruction teams in the north of the country, but it is behind schedule in moving into the west and other regions.