McCain urges 'strong' post-2014 Afghanistan accord

WASHINGTON: US Senator John McCain said Tuesday he wants a solid NATO-Afghanistan accord sealed at a May summit, ensuring critical post-2014 US involvement in the region rather than "looming international abandonment."

A Strategic Partnership Agreement that frames the presence of international forces in the war-torn country would be "one of the most impactful achievements that could come out of the Chicago summit, McCain told a Washington roundtable previewing the NATO summit at a time of high tensions between Washington and Kabul.

"This agreement could make clear to our friends and allies, both in Afghanistan and in the region, that the United States will remain a fact on the ground in Afghanistan well beyond 2014 -- that we will continue our assistance to the Afghan Security Forces," he added.

The influential Republican senator and former presidential candidate added that a pact would also enable US forces to "continue taking the fight to Al-Qaeda and the Taliban."

"By concluding a strong Strategic Partnership Agreement in Chicago, we could change the narrative of NATO's involvement in Afghanistan -- from one of looming international abandonment to one of enduring international commitment," McCain said.

"This is an enormous opportunity, one that we cannot afford to miss."

There have been calls in Washington to speed withdrawal after a series of damaging incidents in the war, but General John Allen, US commander in Afghanistan said Tuesday he would not issue a recommendation on the pace of troop drawdown for several months.

The US force of nearly 90,000 is due to be scaled back to 68,000 by the end of September, ahead of full withdrawal by 2014 as set by Obama, but debate persists at the White House on the war and there is growing pressure on the left in Congress for a faster exit.

McCain also expressed disappointment that the issue of NATO enlargement was not a primary agenda for the Chicago summit, and cited the cases of Montenegro, Macedonia, Bosnia and Georgia.

"We must make it clear to all of these countries, and any other country in Europe that wants to be a part of NATO and can meet the criteria, that the path to membership is open to them," he said.