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The Vice President of the United States Joe Biden who was on a visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has stated that US will not cut and run in 2014, when the US-led military coalition plans to hand over control of security to Afghan forces. Speaking after a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Biden said training and aid will continue even after responsibility for security is handed over to Afghans.1
Meanwhile, a suicide bomber killed at least two Afghan security personnel and wounded four in an attack near the country’s parliament in Kabul, Ministry of Interior spokesman Zemari Bashary said. The attack in the Afghan capital targeted a minibus carrying Afghan security forces, he added.2
However, a top US official responsible for four key southern provinces in Afghanistan, including the traditional Taliban stronghold of Kandahar, noted that efforts to improve governance in Afghanistan are bearing fruit in areas where a troop surge has driven back the Taliban however he stressed that more work is needed to sustain progress as the United States prepares to cut troops next year. He also added that a great deal of progress has been made in security scenario over time.3
- 1. “Biden says US will help Afghanistan after pullout”, Dawn, January 11, 2011 at http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/11/biden-says-us-will-help-afghanistan-after...
- 2. “Suicide blast kills two in Kabul”, Dawn, January 12, 2011 at http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/12/suicide-blast-kills-two-in-kabul.html
- 3. “US sees better governance in some Afghan areas”, Dawn, January 14, 2011 at http://www.dawn.com/2011/01/14/us-sees-better-governance-in-some-afghan-...