The Taliban on Saturday lashed out at Washington, calling the 2001 U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan “a permanent stigma on the face of Western democracy.”

The Taliban statement also warned the U.S. that the Afghan people have an “endless stamina for war” and that the group will send America to “the dustbin of history.” It accused the U.S. of using the attacks as a pretext to martyr innocent Muslims.

The statement came one day before the U.S. marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and on the Pentagon in Washington which killed nearly 3,000 people.

The newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, promised not to abandon Afghanistan — telling VOA that to do so would be unacceptable. He said that to leave before Afghan forces are capable of providing security throughout the country risks a return of the Taliban.

The Taliban gave al-Qaida a safe haven in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks — allowing the terrorist group to set up training camps and refusing to hand over its leader, Osama bin Laden.

Crocker said that a secure Afghanistan and stable Pakistan would help ensure such attacks do not happen again.

U.S.-led forces invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 — ousting the Taliban from power, weakening al-Qaida and forcing bin Laden and other top commanders into hiding.

American special forces tracked down bin Laden and killed him earlier this year in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.

U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, but the U.S. is expected to complete a withdrawal of its troops from there in 2014.