NEW YORK – Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clintonhas admitted that US could not win war in Afghanistan in last 17 years,while talking to the India Today Conclave on Sunday.
When asked if America is ever going to win the great battle in Afghanistan,Hillary said that it was an ongoing disappointment.
Pakistan is not helping enough with resolving issues related tocross-border terrorism and the problems faced by its neighbour Afghanistan,
Responding to a question by Editor-in-Chief of India Today Group AroonPurie on the crisis surrounding Afghanistan, Hillary said that the countryhas been under pressure from all sides.
The former first lady of United States said that Afghanistan is presentlyfacing the continuance of Taliban regime and more worrisome presence of theIslamic State.
Speaking about the president of Afghanistan, Hillary said that she knewPresident Ashraf Ghani for a long time and that she was aware of hisefforts for the betterment of the nation.
She said that Ghani was instrumental in putting pillars under the Afghansociety when it came to education, employment and giving people a differentunderstanding to make Afghanistan a more successful nation.
While talking about Pakistan, Hillary recollected her time during theoperation to eliminate dreaded terrorist Osama Bin Laden, the founder of alQaeda in May 2011.
The former US secretary of state said that she was present in the situationroom advising then president Barack Obama on the raid against Laden. Shesaid that it was a tough decision because the intelligence was 40-60 percent.
Hillary said that the US was aware of the fact that the move would cause alot of negativity in Pakistan. She added that despite the odds, they had tomake the move nonetheless.
She said that she had recommended the president to launch the raid whileothers had a different opinion. The President however eventually greensignaled the raid.
Further talking about Pakistan’s role, Hillary said that the US neveractually got much from the country in terms of cooperation to help orsupport.