US will stand by Afghanistan: Panetta

WASHINGTON: The United States sought to assure Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday that it would remain committed to his country even as US officials weigh a major withdrawal of American forces.

After an elaborate military ceremony forKarzai outside the Pentagon, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told his "distinguished visitor" that more than 10 years of war had paved the way for Afghanistan to stand on its own. "After a long and difficult past, we finally are, I believe, at the last chapter of establishing a sovereign Afghanistan that can govern and secure itself for the future,"Panetta said. "We've come a long way towards a shared goal of establishing a nation that you and we can be proud of, one that never again becomes a safe haven for terrorism," he said at the outset of his talks with Karzai. Since US-led troops toppled the Taliban from power in 2001 following the September 11 attacks, the Afghan president has had a stormy relationship with his US allies, and American officials are anxious to demonstrate Washington's full-fledged support during his visit. In his talks this week, Karzai is expected to push for a substantial US military presence in Afghanistan after 2014, when the NATO-led mission is due to end. But some officials in the White House favor a light footprint of several thousand troops after 2014, and Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser, even suggested Tuesday that the United States might pull out all of its troops. US military officers privately acknowledged that White House comments about possibly withdrawing all forces by the end of 2014 was primarily designed as a tactic in negotiations with Kabul. There are currently about 66,000 US boots on the ground, after a peak of about 100,000. Seeking to reassure Karzai, Panetta said the United States had an unshakable "bond" with Afghanistan after fighting side-by-side on the battlefield. "I also want to assure you, my friend, that the United States and the Department of Defense are fully committed to helping the people of Afghanistan secure and govern their own country. "We have sacrificed together -- that has created a bond that will not be broken in the future."For his part, Karzai thanked Panetta for the US military's contributions and for the red-carpet ceremony, saying he was hopeful Washington and Kabul would work out an agreement allowing a future US military role beyond 2014 "I thank you and our other allies for providing Afghanistan the assistance that was needed for the past 10 years," Karzai told Panetta as reporters looked on "I am sure... that Afghanistan and the United States will work out a modality for a bilateral security agreement that will ensure the interests of Afghanistan and also the interests of the United States." http://rtilive.pk/detail/9340 Right to Information Pakistan Live, RTI Live, Information Pakistan, RTI online Research ORganization,breaking news pakistan,current news about pakistan,current news from pakistan,current news of pakistan,current news on pakistan,current news pakistan,google news pakistan,hot news of pakistan,karachi pakistan news,latest news about pakistan,latest news from pakistan,latest news in pakistan,latest news of pakistan,latest news on pakistan,latest news pakistan,latest news pakistan urdu,latest pakistan news,live news pakistan,news about pakistan,news from pakistan,news in pakistan,news of pakistan,news on pakistan,news pakistan,news pakistan latest,pakistan current news,pakistan flood news,pakistan floods news,pakistan karachi news,pakistan latest news,pakistan latest news online,pakistan live news,pakistan new news,pakistan news,pakistan news channel,pakistan news lahore,pakistan news latest,pakistan news live,pakistan news online,pakistan news paper,pakistan news papers,pakistan news service,pakistan news today,pakistan news tv,pakistan news urdu,pakistan news english,pakistan news video,pakistan political news,pakistan top news,pakistan urdu news,pakistan english news,pakistan world news,todaynews of pakistan,rti news of pakistan,rtilive news of pakistan,top news of pakistan,urdu news pakistan,english news pakistan,urdu pakistan news,english pakistan news,world news pakistan,www pakistan urdu news,www pakistan english news,www rtilive pk news,yahoo pakistan news,action news,breaking news,business news, current news,daily news,e news,entertainment news,google news,headline news,india news,pakistan news,international news,it news,latest news,live news,lacal news,national news,new news,news,news channel,news channels,news entertainment,news for kids,news for today,news live,news of the day,news of the world,news of today,news of world,news paper,news papers,news today,news video,news weather,online news,recent news,science news,news the,today news,top news,weather news,world news,news yahoo,yahoo news,American forces, United States, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, US Defense Secretary , Leon Panetta, substantial US military ,