McCain Calls for Permanent Afghan Bases

"KABUL, Afghanistan - A senior American lawmaker called Tuesday for permanent U.S. bases in Afghanistan (news - web sites) to safeguard American security interests in a region that includes Iran as well as nuclear-armed Pakistan and China.

Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), part of a five-strong U.S. Senate delegation which held talks with President Hamid Karzai, said he was committed to a "strategic partnership that we believe must endure for many, many years.

"Not only for the good of the Afghan people, but also for the good of the American people because of the long-term security interests that we have in the region," McCain told reporters at the presidential palace in the Afghan capital.

Asked what such a partnership would entail, he said: "Economic assistance, technical assistance, military partnership including — and this is a personal view — joint military permanent bases and also cultural exchanges."

I am not surprised to see this at all.