Canada pledged on Thursday to keep its troops in Afghanistan after France offered to bolster the NATO force there, and other world leaders said they were committed to the country for the long haul.In a joint declaration issued at a summit in Bucharest, the 40 nations of the NATO-led peacekeeping mission confirmed their "firm and shared long-term commitment" to Afghanistan.
"The whole international community, including the United Nations, are behind you," United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a joint news conference after meeting President Hamid Karzai.
"The cost of disengagement would be greater than the cost of engagement," Ban said. "It is absolutely necessary that the international community continue to engage so that and until the Afghan government will be able to stand on their own".