The new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, Ryan Crocker, says the United States is not rushing to leave Afghanistan, nor is it interested in having permanent bases in that country.
Ryan Crocker made the comment during his swearing-in ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul Monday.
About 33,000 American troops are set to leave Afghanistan by September of next year, as Afghan forces begin taking control of their country's security. Last week, NATO completed the first phase of transitioning the security of Afghanistan to local forces.
In his speech Monday, Crocker acknowledged that many citizens of troop-contributing nations are weary of war. But he also stressed the “incalculable long-term effects and cost of getting it wrong.”
The U.S. ambassador vowed that the international community will not allow the Taliban to regain power in the country after 2014, when most foreign combat forces are set to leave Afghanistan.
Crocker reopened the U.S. Embassy in Kabul after U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban in 2001. He came out of retirement to replace outgoing Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.
In violence Monday, a group of militants attacked an airport in the capital of northeastern Nangarhar province, Jalalabad, lobbing grenades at the main gate. A local police chief said airport security guards returned fire and the attackers fled.
Earlier in the day, NATO said one of its helicopters crashed in eastern Kunar province. It said that as coalition rescue forces approached the crash site, they came under enemy fire. All passengers and crew members were safely taken to a nearby base.
The Taliban claims to have shot down the helicopter.
In the west, NATO said an insurgent attack killed one of its service members Monday.
NATO also said it was investigating civilian casualties in an incident in central Wardak province, during which a coalition patrol struck a roadside bomb while conducting a road clearance operation. One civilian was killed and several coalition members were wounded.
NATO said that following the bomb blast, coalition forces exchanged gunfire with insurgents, after which three civilians were found dead and one wounded. The coalition says it is trying to determine how the civilians were killed and wounded.
