"The US deployed 12,000 personnel and India 15,000 personnel. The real question is: could Europe come together in doing likewise, on the ground at a distant (location)? I think the answer ... would be no," said Bill Frist, leader of the Republicans in the US Senate.

Frist, who was speaking after a meeting with NATO ambassadors here, said he had told members they should "transform the investment they had already made into a more deployable type of military force which could respond to tragedies, humanitarian or others".

NATO had already taken the first steps down that path, Frist said. "I think we would encourage the development of such a response," he said.

"I think it has been very useful for the global community to see the value of adding rapid response teams that could be deployed quickly, when time is of the essence," he said.

The United States deployed hundreds of marines, several naval vessels and various other military personnel in Sri Lanka and Indonesia to help victims of the tidal waves that smashed into coastal areas.

Although it has been generous in terms of humanitarian aid, The European Union has not been able to operate in disaster zones on the ground as quickly because of the lack of an adequate military structure.

Frist has just completed a tour of various countries in Asia and the Middle East.

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