No repeating mistake, no rush for Afghan exit: Crocker

He cautioned that what happens in the months ahead will have far-reaching effects across the globe.Ryan Crocker takes over as Americas top diplomat in Afghanistan as President Barack Obama begins withdrawing some of the 33,000 American reinforcements he sent in December 2009 as part of an effort to reverse the Talibans momentum. Some Republican lawmakers called the withdrawal plan too risky, saying it did not leave enough coalition troops in the country to deal a decisive blow to the insurgency.Speaking after being sworn in at the US Embassy in Kabul, Crocker tried to allay Afghan fears about Obamas plan to bring 10,000 US troops home by years end, as many as 23,000 more by September 2012 and a formal end to the combat mission by the end of 2014.We must proceed carefully, he said. There will be no rush for the exits. The way we do this in the months ahead will have consequences far beyond Afghanistan and far in the future.He said the US was wrong to withdraw support from Afghanistan in the early 1990s, but stressed the US had no interest in having permanent bases in the nation.Many Afghans felt abandoned by the US after 1989, when the Soviet Union withdrew its army from Afghanistan and US support to mujahedeen fighters battling the Soviets dried up. Afghanistan then sank into years of brutal civil war, which was followed by the rise of the Taliban, al-Qaidas use of Afghanistan as a sanctuary and the Sept. 11 attacks.The coming year will be critical in setting the right glide path, Crocker told hundreds of embassy employees, diplomats and military leaders gathered outdoors in a red tent where a light breeze tempered the morning heat.Crocker, who has held top diplomatic postings in Iraq, Pakistan, Kuwait, Syria and Lebanon, submitted his credentials to Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a ceremony at the presidential palace later Monday. He came out of retirement to replace Karl Eikenberry, who left Afghanistan earlier this month.