"I believe it will take another 10 years, at least 10 years," he told Bild newspaper when asked for how much longer the country will need German troops.

"We need more time. The destruction was massive. Rebuilding Afghanistan will take longer than we thought."

Karzai said the most important step in restoring security to Afghanistan was closing down insurgents' rear bases, and accused the international community of failing to realise this.

"Our biggest security problem is that the international community has not been concerned enough about the rear bases of the Taliban and terrorists outside Afghanistan," he said.


Agencies

Güncelleme Tarihi: 21 Aralık 2007, 17:25