September 29, 2014 - Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement after the inauguration of Ashraf Ghani as president of Afghanistan:

“Today’s peaceful democratic transition in Afghanistan—the first such transition in its history—is an important step for the future of the country. I congratulate President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai and Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Abdullah for coming together in good faith and putting the interests of their country first. I hope the new leaders and the entire unity government can effectively work together to confront the many challenges facing Afghanistan.

“Now that the inauguration has taken place, I look forward to the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement and continued security cooperation between our two countries. Moving forward, the United States must continually address and adjust our military presence in Afghanistan in accordance with our security interests. It must remain a top U.S. priority to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming a safe haven for terrorists, and we should use all the tools at our disposal to assist the Afghan government in this goal.”