Reuters
02/22/2005
By David Brunnstrom
[Printer Friendly Version]

KABUL - A bipartisan group of U.S. senators pledged long-term support for Afghanistan on Tuesday and influential Republican John McCain said he saw the need for permanent joint military bases in the country.

The five senators, including New York Democrat Hillary Clinton, said after talks with President Hamid Karzai that U.S. support for Afghanistan was in the interests of both countries.

McCain said the senators had come to congratulate the Afghan people for the economic and political progress made since U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban in late 2001, including presidential elections won by Karzai in October.

"We also want to declare our commitment and that of the people we represent to a long-term strategic partnership that we believe must endure for many, many years," he said.

McCain, who represents Arizona, said this was "not only for the good of the Afghan people, but also for the good of the American people, because of the long-term security interests we have in the region."

Asked about specific support, he replied: "We mean by that economic assistance, technical assistance, military partnership, including -- and this is a personal view -- joint military permanent bases."

Another of the senators, Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold, said America and Afghanistan would always be linked because of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, masterminded from Afghanistan by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).

"We will always be together in history for that reason, but going forward we must be permanently linked together in history," he said, at which Karzai interjected: "Indeed."

U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan and overthrew the Taliban after they refused to hand over bin Laden and other al Qaeda figures responsible for the attacks on New York and Washington.

More than three years after the fall of the Taliban, the United States is still leading an 18,000-strong mainly U.S. military force in Afghanistan pursuing guerrillas from the movement and their al Qaeda allies, including bin Laden.

A separate NATO (news - web sites)-led force of about 8,500 peacekeeping troops is also based in Afghanistan.

Washington has said it wants to prevent Afghanistan ever being used again as a breeding ground for terrorists.

But the country has an additional strategic significance, not least given its border with Iran, a country the United States has warned not to attempt to produce nuclear weapons.

Karzai said in October foreign forces would be needed for "some years" until Afghan security forces had been properly built up, while U.S. ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said in December that some level of foreign troop presence could remain indefinitely.

U.S. military trainers say a new Afghan army now being created would reach full combat strength by the end of next year and training of the overall force of 70,000 should be complete by the end of 2008.

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