UN calls for massive long-term support for Afghan forces

The United Nations is urging participants at NATO summit this weekend to provide massive long-term support for Afghanistan's security forces to ensure that the country is never again a base for terrorism.

UN envoy to Afghanistan Jan Kubis said that in the run-up to the summit, the UN has been sending "a very strong message" to countries that are -- and are not -- part of the NATO-led coalition in Afghanistan that theinvestment of the last 10 years must not be lost. Kubis spoke Friday in an interview with The Associated Press.

Ahead of the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2014, Kubis said countries at the summit should deliver "a clear commitment" to contribute as much as possible toward the US$4.1 billion yearly goal for Afghan security forces.

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  U.S Defense Secretary Robert Gates, left, inspects Afghan troops as he tours Camp Blackhorse training grounds in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednsday, March 10, 2010. Gates raised the possibility Wednesday that some of the U.S. forces involved in the Afghanistan surge could leave the country before President Barack Obama's announced July 2011 date to begin withdrawal. (AP Photo/Jim Watson, Pool)