WASHINGTON, October 28 (RIA Novosti) – The withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan will show that Pakistan has been the true cause of regional instability, US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has told RIA Novosti.
"The worst thing we can do is leave American troops in Afghanistan, and they become the symbol of foreign occupation. Eventually everyone's going to say we wouldn't have this violence [in Afghanistan] if not for these foreign troops. Now the world will know full well that its Pakistan, not the United States, that is responsible for the turmoil of the past 10 years," Rohrabacher said Monday.
Rohrabacher applauded the US Department of Defense announcement on Monday that US Marine and UK combat forces officially ended military operations in Afghanistan and turned the last military bases over to Afghan troops. He also took aim at critics who said violence will spike if the US exits prematurely.
"The United States cannot garrison every trouble spot in the world. Hopefully without the United States military there, the various factions will find ways of compromising with each other," Rohrabacher added.
Overall the House Republican from California said he felt optimistic about Afghanistan's future, considering the compromise that was struck between President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah who were entangled in an electoral standoff rife with corruption.
"Hopefully a new coalition government is a sign that people are going to work together and compromise rather than cut deals and pay people off and rely on foreign troops to stay in power. That's ending. The Afghan people can hopefully take advantage of this great opportunity they have now, and leave the past behind them," the congressman stated.
Following the 13-year war aimed at dismantling the al-Qaeda terrorist network, President Obama in May announced that US forces would complete drawdown from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, with a residual force of 9,800 assisting Afghan security forces at the beginning of 2015.
