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Summary Hillary Clinton says Afghan peace process would have strengthened with Pak participation at Bonn.
Pakistan canceled its participation to protest last months NATO air assault, carried out from Afghan territory, that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.No one is more interested than the United States in getting to the bottom of what happened in the border incident, Hillary Clinton said with an edge in her voice. She has called the deaths tragic and pledged a thorough investigation, but Pakistan rebuffed her entreaties, as recently as Saturday, to reconsider and attend the conference.The United States and other nations vowed Monday to keep supporting Afghanistan after most foreign forces leave the country in 2014, as the nation faces an enduring Taliban-led insurgency and possible financial collapse.The United States is prepared to stand with the Afghan people for the long haul, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a global conference on Afghanistans future that was overshadowed by the absence of key regional player Pakistan.The international community has much to lose if the country again becomes a source of terrorism and instability, she added.The Bonn conference is focused on the transfer of security responsibilities from international forces to Afghan security forces during the next three years, long-term prospects for international aid and a possible political settlement with the Taliban.Clinton stressed that in return for continued support the Afghans must live up to their commitments on taking difficult decisions to embrace reform, lead in their own defense and strengthen an inclusive democracy rooted in the rule of law.About 100 countries and international organizations are represented among the 1,000 conference delegates, including some 60 foreign ministers. The attendees are hoping to agree on a set of mutual binding commitments under which Afghanistan would promise reforms and work toward goals such as good governance, with donors and international organizations pledging long-term assistance in return to ensure the countrys viability beyond 2014.Together we have spent blood and treasure in fighting terrorism, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said. Your continued solidarity, your commitment and support will be crucial so that we can consolidate our gains and continue to address the challenges that remain. We will need your steadfast support for at least another decade.Afghanistan is economically dependent on foreign aid and spending related to the huge military presence and the country seeks assurance that donor nations will help fill the gap after most forces leave by 2015.Although donor nations will not commit to specific figures at the one-day session Monday, they will sign up to the principle that economic and other advances in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban government in 2001 should be safeguarded with continued funding.Afghanistan estimates it will need outside contributions of roughly $10 billion in 2015, or slightly less than half the countrys annual gross national product, mostly to pay for its security forces, then slated to number about 350,000.Pakistan is a central player in regional efforts to improve trade and strengthen its weak economies. But its boycott has cast a damper over the session.Pakistans army accused NATO of a deliberate act of aggression, an assertion the Pentagon has denied as usual. Pakistan has lost thousands of people, both civilian and military, by being an ally in the US war on terror, with end results that Nato forces kill Pakistani soldiers on the border.Afghanistans western neighbor Iran, in turn, joined the conference, and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said the country stands ready to support Afghanistan and welcomes the departure of the international military.Salehi said real stability for the country can only be achieved through the political process of reconciliation, and condemned the idea of foreign military bases in Afghanistan beyond 2014.The US had once hoped to use the Bonn gathering to announce news about the prospect for peace talks with the Taliban, making it a showcase for political reconciliation, but Afghan and US outreach efforts have not borne fruit and no prominent Taliban representatives were attending the conference.The final declaration of the Bonn conference is expected to outline broad principles for political reconciliation with the Taliban, a project that several leading participants in the conference increasingly predict will outlast the NATO timeline for withdrawal in 2014.
