The US and Afghanistan have reached a deal on a long-delayed strategic partnership agreement that assures the Afghan people their key American ally will not abandon the country militarily or financially for years after 2014, the deadline for most foreign forces to withdraw.
The agreement is key to the US exit strategy in Afghanistan because it provides guidelines for any American forces who remain after the withdrawal deadline and for financial help to the impoverished country and its security forces. For the Afghan government, it is a way to show its citizens that its key allies are not just walking away.
"Our goal is an enduring partnership with Afghanistan that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability and prosperity and that contributes to our shared goal of defeating al-Qaeda and its extremist affiliates," US embassy spokesman Gavin Sundwall said on Sunday. "We believe this agreement supports that goal."
After 10 years of US-led war, Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked insurgents remain a threat and as recently as a week ago, they launched a large-scale attack on the capital, Kabul, and three other cities.
The draft agreement was worked out and initialled by Afghan national security adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta and US ambassador Ryan Crocker and must still be reviewed in both countries and signed afterward by the Afghan and American presidents.
US forces have already started pulling out of Afghanistan and the majority of combat troops are scheduled to depart by the end of 2014. But the US is expected to maintain a large presence in the country for years after, including special forces, military trainers and government assistance programs.
The agreement is both an achievement and a relief for both sides, coming after months of turmoil that seemed to put the entire alliance in peril. It shows that the two governments are still committed to working together and capable of coming to some sort of understanding.
"The document finalised today provides a strong foundation for the security of Afghanistan, the region and the world and is a document for the development of the region," Spanta said in a statement issued by President Hamid Karzai's office.
Neither Afghan nor US officials would comment on the details of the agreement, but it is believed to pledge a partnership for 10 years beyond the 2014 withdrawal deadline.
Reaching any agreement is likely to be seen as a success given more than a year-and-a-half of negotiations during which the entire effort appeared in danger of falling apart multiple times.
Since the beginning of the year, US-Afghan relations have been strained by an internet video of US Marines urinating on the corpses of presumed Taliban fighters, by Quran burnings at a US base that sparked days of deadly protests and by the alleged killing spree by a US soldier in a southern Afghan village. Tensions were further heightened by a spate of turncoat attacks by Afghan security forces on their international counterparts.
White House National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor said President Barack Obama expects to sign the document before a NATO summit in Chicago next month, meeting the deadline set by the two sides. Many had started to worry in recent weeks that Karzai and Obama would miss that goal as talked dragged on and Karzai continued to announce new demands for the document.
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US to provide military/financial support for Afghanistan through "at least" 2024
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Originally Posted by Caelius
it has not been so long when I warned our patriotic American marine that his Govt. is not gonna leave Afghanistan, he said no they are leaving in big numbers and he was no fan of Obama, but look who fooled you bro! Dear Obama 
By the way that financial help they promised with Afghanistan is nothing but capitalist tactic to lure weak nations into their tight net, this is what they did with everyone including us. Before invasion Afghanistan was one of the few countries without any debt, now the situation would be changed.
