U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday reiterated her country's commitment to a long-term relationship with Afghanistan and admitted that the U.S. made a mistake when it once left the war-torn country, DPA reported. "I want to assure the president again that the Afghan people have a long-term partner in the United States. We are not going to leave as we once did. It was a mistake for us and it was a mistake for the Afghan people," Rice told reporters after holding talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Rice was referring to the U.S. abandoning the country after the then-Soviet Union was ejected in 1989. "So you can count, Mr. President, on our continuing friendship, our long-term partnership, a relationship in terms of security cooperation and the fight to bring peace and stability to this region that will be enduring," Rice added. The Secretary of State also said that the U.S. "cannot simply defend ourselves, we have to be on the offense" in the fight against global terrorism. She added that this will be for the security of Afghanistan as well as the United States. "There has to be an answer to extremism and terrorism and it's prosperity, peace and democracy," Rice said on her second trip to Afghanistan since being appointed U.S. Secretary of State. Rice departed later Wednesday for an added stop on her Asian tour to visit earthquake-devastated Pakistan.
