Ahead of a United Nations Security Council briefing Tuesday on Afghanistan, the country's Foreign Minister urged patience from the international community in dealing with his country. Rangin Dadfar Spanta said abandoning Afghanistan now will only "embolden extremists in the region and beyond." "What the Afghan nation expects and deserves from a renewed partnership with the international community is the reassurance of long-term commitment and solidarity," Spanta told the U.N. General Assembly on Monday. The Security Council will be briefed on U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's report on Afghanistan which describes the violence as the single greatest impediment to the nation's progress.
