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WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday challenged European members of NATO to stop cutting support for the military alliance in the face of current and future threats such as terrorism, Iran and the spread of nuclear weapons.

“The demilitarization of Europe, where large swaths of the general public and political class are averse to military force and the risks that go with it,” has become an obstacle to long-term security, Mr. Gates told NATO representatives and others who are studying the alliance’s mission in Washington. “The resulting funding and capability shortfalls make it difficult to operate and fight together to confront shared threats.”

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, made up of the United States, Canada and European nations, must honor its commitment that a threat to one is a danger to all, Mr. Gates said at the National Defense University at Fort McNair. NATO must adapt to the “most likely and lethal threats,” he said.

The Obama administration is pressing allies to strengthen NATO in an era of military campaigns beyond its borders, such as in Afghanistan, and missile threats from antagonists such as Iran. NATO this year already faces budget shortfalls of “hundreds of millions of euros,” and only five of 28 allies have achieved the established target of spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, Mr. Gates said.

“In Afghanistan, the alliance has struggled to field the trainers and mentors needed for the mission,” he said. “In all of this, heads of state and government have to commit to maintaining the forces and weapons needed to defend themselves and each other.”

An example of political tensions over the role of Europe’s militaries is the collapse of the Dutch coalition government three days ago, after a Cabinet minister’s party refused to go along with a NATO request to keep Dutch troops in the Afghan province of Uruzgan beyond this year.

NATO has failed to finance the additional cargo aircraft, helicopters, aerial refueling tankers and equipment for gathering intelligence that it needs for Afghanistan, Mr. Gates said. The shortage of helicopters and cargo aircraft “is directly impacting operations in Afghanistan,” he said.

As an example of the choices that alliance members will have to make, Mr. Gates cited Denmark, which he said had eliminated its submarine fleet to double its expeditionary forces.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said members need to coordinate weapons acquisitions more. He cited the potential for the U.S. missile defense system to be integrated into a similar program that the alliance is developing. The European Union and NATO should combine efforts in developing capabilities such as heavy-lift helicopters, he said.

“It makes no sense engaging in two parallel projects without talking to each other, and spending double money,” Mr. Rasmussen said in Washington.

NATO must also still prepare for more traditional, direct threats to the territory of a member nation, Mr. Gates said. He cited Russia’s invasion of Georgia “and its recent military exercises on NATO’s border, the largest of that type since the collapse of the Soviet Union.”