But the partnership has never really been defined and the government is in disarray. Progress on that front “assures us there will be fundamental, comprehensive reforms”, Ghani said through an interpreter.
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The country’s flawed 2014 election left two men claiming victory – Ghani a Pashtun and Abdullah Abdullah, a Tajik.
Kerry repeated an offer of peace talks with the Taliban and called on Afghanistan’s fractious politicians to work together.
Kerry offered no hint on whether the timetable may change, saying only that President Barack Obama would make his decision on the size of the force after listening to what commanders on the ground had to say.
“To make them a success, we need to maximize each and every day between now and those meetings”, Kerry said as he sat beside Rabbani in a large, ornately decorated room at the presidential palace lined with oil portraits of Afghan leaders through the ages. Security vacuums in each threaten the U.S.
“We request both Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah to present us nominees for ministry of defense and NDS for a vote of confidence so that we can end the caretaker arrangement”, he said following the vote for Jahid.
The visit to Kabul was Kerry’s second unannounced stop in two days, following a day in Baghdad.
State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry would “emphasize USA support” for the government and its security forces, which North Atlantic Treaty Organisation officials say fully control no more than 70 percent of Afghanistan.
Kerry met Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari and was also set for talks with Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region.
KABUL-Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday said he is confident Afghanistan’s struggling unity government would stay in power for a full term despite internal rivalries and growing domestic opposition.
The challenges in some ways mirror those Kerry confronted Friday in Iraq. Having invaded both countries over a decade ago hoping to install stable democracies, neither effort has panned out for the US. It hasn’t happened, even though the USA has spent some $2 trillion so far and several thousand Americans have died in military operations. In Iraq, there are 3,780.
But last month, Taliban fighters fired projectiles at Afghanistan’s parliament compound while politicians were in session.
In September, the Taliban overran Kunduz, their first takeover of a major city since their fall from power in 2001.
The Taliban have stepped up their insurgency since most foreign troops withdrew from Afghanistan at the end of 2014, although Kabul has enjoyed a period of relative calm during the harsh winter months.
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But they underscored the volatile security situation in the country as warmed weather brings increased fighting.
