WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Gates said yesterday that sending Marines to Afghanistan will keep pressure on the Taliban and doesn’t “reflect dissatisfaction” with NATO countries’ performance.

He was trying to smooth over comments a day earlier that sparked an international furor. The Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that Mr. Gates said American forces in eastern Afghanistan are doing a terrific job but that he is concerned that NATO allies are not well trained in counterinsurgency operations. “Allied forces … have stepped up to the plate and are playing a significant and powerful role in Afghanistan,” Mr. Gates told a Pentagon press conference, which officials said had purposely been rescheduled for earlier in the day yesterday to meet European news deadlines.

“They are taking the fight to the enemy in some of the most grueling conditions imaginable,” Mr. Gates said of NATO forces. “As a result of the valor and sacrifice of these allies, the Taliban has suffered significant losses.”

But Mr. Gates also repeated his concern that NATO forces were better trained for Cold War-era fighting than they are for today’s threats, such as insurgencies.

“We have to acknowledge the reality that the alliance as a whole has not trained for counterinsurgency operations even though individual countries have considerable expertise at, and success in, this arena,” he said.

Seeking to calm the uproar, he added: “We must overcome in good faith and mutual respect the issues that provoke our alliance and keep focused on the mission that unites us.”

Mr. Gates said he had personally phoned his Canadian counterpart Wednesday to explain his position.

In Toronto, Defense Minister Peter MacKay of Canada described the call. “I spoke to him [Mr. Gates] and he said, ‘Canada was the last country I would make those comments about,’ and they were not meant to be disparaging or to diminish the effort Canada has put forward,” Mr. MacKay said.

Mr. Gates noted the Dutch Parliament had just voted to extend its troop commitment to Afghanistan for another two years.

“I think people are accepting their responsibilities, especially those that are already there,” Mr. Gates said.

Mr. Gates’ comments in Wednesday’s newspaper had spurred the Dutch Defense Ministry to summon the American ambassador for an explanation, and they prompted Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer of NATO to retort, “All the countries that are in the south do an excellent job. Full stop.”

One British lawmaker, Patrick Mercer, condemned Mr. Gates’ comments as “bloody outrageous” and added, “I would beg the Americans to understand that we are their closest allies, and our men are bleeding and dying in large numbers.”