"We're very nervous," Saad Mohseni, the director of Moby Media Group said during a panel discussion at the Halifax International Security Form.

"We see that the world is going to turn its back toward our region. And to an extent, what's transpiring with debates here and also in Washington, it's giving confidence to the radicals.

"They seem to feel and smell victory. So for them it's the beginning of the end."

Mohseni pointed to the recent Dutch withdrawal from Afghanistan and US President Barack Obama's goal of starting to withdraw troops in mid-2011.

Canada is also exiting the war-torn nation in mid-2011, and Britain and France have signalled they may follow.

"Is the international community leaving? I want to say categorically no," countered US Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy.

"People are weary of war, but I think Americans fundamentally understand that this is the region from which 9/11 came to the United States. This is a persistent and enduring threat that we have to deal with," she said.

"The nature of our engagement will change over time as conditions on the ground change," Flournoy added. "The nature of our troop posture, and so forth, will gradually change over time, but that's in the context of a whole-of-government commitment that will be enduring to Afghanistan security and development."

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