KABUL — Afghanistan's foreign minister said Monday the country was a victim of global extremism, denying that an increase in violence was a domestic insurgency and warning against any withdrawal of foreign troops.
"We emphasise to the world that we are the victims of terrorism," Rangin Dadfar Spanta told a news conference.
Violence has spiked in Afghanistan in recent months. Nearly 400 US and NATO troops have died so far in 2009 -- the deadliest year in eight years of war.
The commander of the 100,000-strong US and NATO force in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, reportedly wants 40,000 extra US troops to be sent and a change in strategy to focus on counter-insurgency in urban areas.
Others in the US administration would prefer fewer troops and a tighter focus on hunting Al-Qaeda cells, with unmanned drone strikes and special forces operations.
Spanda said any withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan was "unacceptable for Afghanistan".
He also denied the current violence was being perpetrated entirely by Afghans.
"The terrorists operating in Afghanistan are a branch of international terrorism and with no doubt has an organic link to international terrorism," he told reporters.
The minister said militants had bases, support and training camps outside Afghanistan, referring to areas of neighbouring Pakistan, where Al-Qaeda and Taliban sympathisers have taken refuge to launch cross-border attacks.
Military action in Afghanistan began just under a month after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. The Taliban had provided a sanctuary for Al-Qaeda, which masterminded the deadly strikes.
Spanda's comments appear to contrast with those of White House National Security advisor James Jones, who said Al-Qaeda's presence was "very diminished" across Afghanistan.
There were fewer than 100 members of the group operating here and "no bases, no ability to launch attacks," he said on Sunday.
McChrystal has also said the majority of insurgents in Afghanistan are Afghans while an international think tank has estimated that the Taliban have a "permanent presence" in 80 percent of the country.
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