Kabul, Jan 12, SPA -- A delegation of four U.S. senators visiting Kabul on Wednesday pledged long-term government support to war-torn Afghanistan. After a meeting with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, Bill Frist, majority leader of the U.S Senate, said that the purpose of their trip is "to deepen our partnership with the Afghan leadership and the people of Afghanistan" adding that the U.S. will continue to be a reliable and long-term partner. Frist noted that in many ways Afghanistan saw the first victory of in the war on terror - freedom and democracy. The Republican Senator from Tennessee said he hoped that the first elections in Iraq follow the success of the recent presidential poll held in Afghanistan. "Our hope is that we will see (in Iraq) something very similar as to what clearly occurred in Afghanistan, and that is the opportunity for the Afghan people to express themselves in the fullest sense of being able to cast a vote, and that will in many ways will squelch and overcome and overpower insurgencies and challenges to democracy in a way that will far surpass peoples anticipations." The Senate delegation also included Majority Whip Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky; Senator Norm Coleman, Republican of Minnesota; and Senator Mike DeWine, Republican of Ohio. Karzai expressed appreciation to the senators for U.S. contributions to Afghanistan over the past three years after the fall of extremist Taliban regime and asked for continued U.S. support for Afghanistan. --SPA 1329 Local Time 1029 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/231987