Afghanistan declared a major US non-NATO ally

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Jul 7, 2:25 AM EDT

Afghanistan declared a major US non-NATO ally

By BRADLEY KLAPPER
Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The Obama administration on Saturday declared Afghanistan the United States' newest "major non-NATO ally," an action designed to facilitate close defense cooperation after U.S. combat troops withdraw from the country in 2014 and as a political statement of support for Afghanistan's long-term stability.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made the announcement shortly after arriving in the country for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"We see this as a powerful commitment to Afghanistan's future," she said at a news conference in the grand courtyard of Kabul's Presidential Palace. "We are not even imagining abandoning Afghanistan."

Clinton insisted that progress was coming incrementally but consistently to the war-torn nation after decades of conflict. "The security situation is more stable," she said. Afghan forces "are improving their capacity."

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CLINTON_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-07-07-02-25-57


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