27 June 2006
Rice Says U.S. Strongly Backs Afghan President Karzai, June 26, 2006(Says Taliban military resurgence should not be confused with political strength)
Washington -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the Bush administration considers Afghan President Hamid Karzai to be “an extraordinary leader” who has led his country to “an honorable position in the international community,” and is “doing an extremely difficult job well.”
Speaking en route to Islamabad, Pakistan, June 26, Rice said Karzai, with whom she will meet on June 28, is a democratic ally of the United States in the war on terrorism and Afghanistan “is fortunate to have [him] at its helm.”
Karzai has come under increased political pressure, including from opposition parties in the Afghan parliament. That stands in contrast to the country’s lack of a viable political opposition during the reign of the Taliban. “There are people who will challenge his leadership and the job that he is doing because that is, let me remind you, in democracies what people do,” Rice said.
“[W]e're going to back him and back him fully. And when he has problems, we're going to sit with him and we're going to find ways to resolve those problems,” she said.
She said that while the Taliban has shown a resurgence in its military activities, it is not having a resurgence as a political movement.
“[I]t's extremely important to make that distinction because what you have now is … an elected government in Afghanistan, an elected president, an elected parliament … and governors throughout the country that have an incentive to have a stable and unified Afghanistan,” she said.
She described the Taliban as “a force that is trying to be destructive in a somewhat vulnerable part of the country,” and said NATO forces are moving into the troubled areas, and are “fully equipped and capable of dealing with the security situation.”
Rice said that during her visit to the region, she plans to discuss improving cooperation between Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States on security and anti-terrorism efforts.
“We've had some good cooperation in some parts of [Afghanistan],” she said. “We want to talk about what more we can do together in the southern part of the country.”
For additional information, see Rebuilding Afghanistan.
PAKISTAN’S “ROAD TO DEMOCRACY”
Rice said she plans to discuss Pakistan’s “road to democracy and the road to the 2007 elections” with President Pervez Musharraf. In her words, the Pakistani leader had laid out the idea of “enlightened moderation and Pakistan as a moderate force in the Muslim world,” which she said is “a big step” from the country’s position before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks upon the United States.
Rice said the world expects “democratic, free and fair elections” in 2007, which Pakistan has committed to. She also said it is important to note that Pakistan “has come an enormously long way” over the past four years.
“[W]e are fortunate, there too, that you have a leadership that is committed to putting Pakistan on a course toward moderation rather than a course toward extremism,” she said.
Secretary Rice also addressed the situation between Israel and the Palestinians over the capture of an Israeli soldier, saying she had had several contacts with officials on both sides.
“There really needs to be an effort now to try and calm the situation, not to let the situation escalate and to give diplomacy a chance to work to try to get this release,” she said.
She added that the Hamas-led Palestinian government needs to “live up to obligations that have been taken on by Palestinians over the last decade to recognize the state of Israel and commit to a peaceful resolution on the way to a two-state solution.”
A transcript of Rice’s remarks is available on the State Department Web site.
