WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US support for Afghanistan should continue after President Barack Obama leaves office next year, former Afghan ambassador and senior government advisor Omar Samad told Sputnik.
"I think it would be detrimental if the United States withdraws or suddenly stops being involved or engaged in Afghanistan," Samad said on Monday. "The US role [in Afghanistan] will be defined by the result of the elections here" and by prior US commitments.
The United States and international forces officially withdrew their combat troops from Afghanistan in 2014. Obama had planned to reduce the US presence to a small embassy security force by the end of his term in office, but altered those plans last year due to Taliban resurgence and the spread of the Islamic State terror group into the country.
"It is important to make sure that the message that has been sent to the Taliban and their supporters continues to be heard… that not just the United States, but the international community is very much on the side of the Afghan people," Samad said on Monday.
The former ambassador further emphasized that stakeholders’ interests lie in "safeguarding the gains" made in Afghanistan during the last 15 years.
Since 2002, the United States has appropriated more than $68 billion to recruit, train, equip and pay the Afghan security and police forces, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. In total, the United States has dedicated more than $113 billion over 15 years for Afghan reconstruction projects.
