Condoleezza Rice: US can't retreat in Afghanistan

[March 20, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says this is no time to give up on Afghanistan, arguing that U.S. policymakers must "keep our nerve."

Rice tells CBS's "This Morning" that despite the upheaval there including the killings of civilians, "We just have to remember what Afghanistan was like 10 years ago," when the Taliban were in charge.

She says the U.S. must focus on training Afghan security forces because "we can't afford to leave Afghanistan to the Taliban and the terrorists."

Rice returned to Stanford University after serving President George W. Bush as national security adviser and secretary of state. She said in Tuesday's interview that a return to power by the Taliban would signify danger, not only to the Afghan people, but to American security interests in the region.

[Associated Press]

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