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US State Secretary Hillary Clinton said on Sunday that her country has no interest in "occupying" Afghanistan or abandoning the war-torn country.
"The United States has no interest in occupying Afghanistan. We also have no intention of abandoning Afghanistan," she told the US-Islamic World forum in Doha.
"When international forces leave Afghanistan, our civilian presence will continue, so that we can foster a long-term partnership between Afghanistan, the United States, and other nations, that is based on shared responsibility for our common security," she added.
Some 15,000 US, British and Afghan troops launched early Saturday the largest offensive in Afghanistan since US President Barack Obama announced sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan late last year.
The United States and NATO already have 113,000 troops in the country battling the insurgents. NATO has pledged another 10,000, bringing the total to more than 150,000 by August.
