By NNN-APP,
Washington : Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said the United States would not repeat the mistake of abandoning Afghanistan and Pakistan, vowing in a broadcast interview that the two neighbors can count on America for the long-term.
“I think that’s absolutely right,” he remarked, when asked if he believed that the U.S. would stay in the region and not abandon it again to leave the regional players to fend for themselves, as had been the case after the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan about two decades back.
“I have to say, I was in the American government at the time we did that, and it was a serious strategic mistake. As soon as the Soviets left Afghanistan, we turned our backs on Afghanistan, and we did not cultivate our relationship with the Pakistanis properly,” he told al-Jazeera TV, according to a transcript, released by the Pentagon Tuesday.
“And so I think we gave rise to doubts in the region about whether we are prepared to stay there and be their partner on a continuing basis. And I believe we have learned our lesson and that both Afghanistan and Pakistan can count on us for the long term.”
Gates’s remarks came as he and other American officials weigh whether to deploy more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. The defense secretary said he remained undecided on the issue.
“There are issues on both sides of (the argument) and, frankly, I haven’t made up my own mind at this point in terms of whether more forces are needed,” Gates said.
According to The Washington Post, Gates was scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama on Tuesday to briefly discuss the assessment given to him last week by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
Pentagon officials said Gates has received comments on the assessment from senior military leaders including Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. David H. Petraeus, head of U.S.
Central Command, and plans to present his own detailed views to Obama later this week. Gates acknowledged in the 45-minute interview that the heavier fighting and growing number of casualties in Afghanistan have weakened public support for the war. “There is a sort of war awareness on the part of the American people,” Gates said.