U.S., Britain pledge not to forsake Afghanistan after December pullout

LONDON — The United States and Britain vowed Thursday that they will not abandon Afghanistan even after international combat troops are withdrawn at the end of the month, closing a chapter of a military engagement that began in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Both U.S. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and British Prime Minister David Cameron, appearing at a conference of nations whose donations help keep Afghanistan financially afloat, said it was in their national interests to continue supporting the struggling country as it enters what they called a “transformation decade.”

“We are committed to ensuring that Afghanistan can never again be used as a safe haven from which terrorists can threaten the international community,” Kerry said. “We know that the most effective way to advance this objective is to support Afghanistan’s political unity and its security.”

“We have a government in Kabul that merits our confidence,” Kerry said. “They can be confident of the support of the international community.”

The conference was billed as a time for Afghanistan and its benefactors to “take stock” of each other during a critical juncture in the history of the nation, wedged between its first democratic transfer of power and the impending pullout of international combat troops. Afghanistan also has been facing asurge in Taliban attacks lately, and many are concerned about what will happen when the withdrawal concludes by Dec. 31.

Donor nations had earlier promised to give $16 billion to Afghanistanbetween 2012 and 2015 — the United States pledging almost half of it — and more aid was not on the table, at least for now. 

Kerry said the Obama administration would ask Congress to approve new levels of aid for Afghanistan through 2017 and said Washington wants to make it easier for Afghans to visit the United States by issuing long-term, multiple-entry visas for students, business travelers and tourists.   Read More  at Washington Post