WASHINGTON, May 10: Osama bin Laden’s killing was a potential game-changer for a political solution in war-torn Afghanistan, the head of the US Congress’s foreign policy panel, said on Tuesday.

But Senator John Kerry also warned that a precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan would bring disaster to the entire South Asian region.

A senior US general, John Campbell, who commands the 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan, backed Senator Kerry, saying emphatically that Bin Laden’s death should not lead to a sudden US pullout from that country. Speaking to journalists at the Pentagon from his headquarters in eastern Afghanistan, Gen Campbell said that Bin Laden’s death had not had an immediate impact on Afghanistan.

“I don’t think the war is over,” he added. President Barack Obama has pledged to begin removing some of the 130,000 US troops by July 31, but his top commander in Afghanistan, Gen David Petraeus, is yet to submit his recommendations on the proposed withdrawals. Senator Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, however, disagreed with Gen Campbell on the impact of Bin Laden’s death on the war in Afghanistan.

It’s “a potentially game-changing opportunity” that could “bring greater stability to the region and bring our troops home,” he said in prepared remarks at a Senate hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan. But he also warned against haste. “Let me be very clear: A precipitous withdrawal from Afghanistan would be a mistake and I, for one, would take that option off the table,” Senator Kerry said.

“Instead, we should be working towards … a presence that puts Afghans in charge … secures our interests and accomplishes our mission of destroying Al Qaeda and preventing Afghanistan from ever again becoming a terrorist sanctuary,” he said.

“But make no mistake, it is unsustainable to continue spending $10 billion a month on a massive military operation with no end in sight,” he added. Senator Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the committee, joined his Democratic colleague in warning against haste. The president “should not just withdraw an arbitrary number of troops,” he said.

“Rather, he should put forward a new plan that includes a definition of success in Afghanistan based on US vital interests and a sober analysis of what is possible to achieve,” said Senator Lugar.

He questioned “whether our vast expenditures in Afghanistan” represented a rational allocation of US military and financial assets.

“This was true before Osama bin Laden was killed. His death has encouraged reflection on our policy in Afghanistan and may create some perceptual opportunities in the region,” he said.