Ambassador Ryan Crocker speaks after being introduced by US President Barack Obama at the White House in Washington, April 28, 2011. Obama on Thursday announced Crocker as the next US ambassador to Afghanistan. [Photo/Agencies]

KABUL, Afghanistan - The new US ambassador to Afghanistan says the United States is not rushing to leave the country and cautions that what happens in the months ahead will have far-reaching consequences across the globe.

Ryan Crocker, the new top US diplomat in Afghanistan, was sworn in Monday at the US Embassy in Kabul.

Crocker says the US left Afghanistan the wrong way in the early 1990s, which resulted in a civil war, the rise of the Taliban, al-Qaida using Afghanistan as a sanctuary and the September 11 attacks.

He also says the US has no interest in permanent bases in Afghanistan. And he says he's confident that even after combat troops leave in 2014, the US will be able to help prevent the Taliban from ever returning to power.