Afghan Foreign Minister Begs Admin Not to Reduce Support for Democracy

Speaking at the Center for American Progress, Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Rangin Dadfar Spanta, made a full-throated plea for the United States not to back away from supporting Afghan democracy. “In recent weeks and months, we have heard some views here and elsewhere that we need to reduce our expectations from Afghanistan, and instead pursue ‘realistic’ objectives in Afghanistan,” Spanta said through translation, calling such a view. “reductionist.” He warned, “Any reductionist policy is bound to fail.”