Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, made some very interesting statements at a joint news conference with President Bush yesterday morning:
On the war on terrorism: "Do you not remember people jumping out of the eightieth floor of the World Trade Center? Who did this? Where are they now? Are we going to wait until they attack again? The war on terrorism needs to be fought throughout the entire world."
On Pakistan's President Musharaff's treaty with Warzaristan tribal leaders: "I will not oppose any action which will deny terrorist forces the ability to (carry out their operations)."
On the opium trade: "It is an embarrassment to Afghanistan. The reason for it is the instability caused by the Taliban insurgents. I know of people who have torn down their orchards to grow opium, because it has been so long since they have had any hope for their future."
On American and NATO support: "This war can not be over quickly...It will take a long time. We don't necessarily need more troops, but we need more money to build schools and roads, and to recruit and train our own army."
President Karzai's remarks and comments were very well thought out, and very well articulated. His was a very powerful presence, and if you have a chance, it is well worth listening to.
President Bush, in response to what he calls "gossip" raised about the leaked portion of the National Security Assessment, announced this morning that he would ask National Security Chief John Negroponte to declassify and post the context from which the increased terror danger report was taken. This is available at www.dia.gov.
The President also pointed out that Al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations have used Palestine/Israel, Somalia, Afghanistan, nearly any issue they can find to attract recruits, so Iraq isn't any different in this sense than anything else that the terrorist organizations have exploited for their purposes.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
arghghghghghghhhghhghgfuck
Would you care to elaborate on that, Yellowdog Granny? I feel like I know you,now, so maybe you shouldn't. You know I like a good conversation, though, and you're welcome to leave comments at any time.
I got the dia.gov url from somewhere else, but so far, I can not access it. All I have to go on is the newspaper reports.
Of course the terrorists have used issues around the world as recruitment tools. But I don't think that has anything to do with the criticism Bush was responding to...
Saddam was a brutal dictator with no love for extremist fundamentalism. As a result, it was quite dangerous for these groups to operate within his border. Since we invaded, not only do they have free access to Iraq, but the people of Iraq have been so devastated by the war that they are more likely to listen to what the extremeists have to say.
I think the thing that drives me most crazy is that the administration (and a huge portion of the conservative population) are unwilling to admit that perhaps invading Iraq was a mistake. If they would do that, we could get on with figuring out what to do next. Unfortunately, instead they continue to assert blatent falsehoods as truth, and then 'blame' those that disagree with them for 'living in the past'.
"Those who do not remember thier history are doomed to repeat it" (or something like that). I see this administration failing to learn from last weeks mistakes, much less history...
tp
What happened in the past was over as a political issue after the 2004 elections. How we got there is not important, what we need to do now is. Most people, including politicians from both wings of the Party, know that we can't leave a failed state behind. What needs to be done is this: start listening to each other. Come up with some ideas as to the most efficient way to get Iraq established as a free and independent nation. Stop making it a political issue, and start thinking.
I absolutely agree that we need to move forward, we need politicians that can work together to do something useful rather than this constant bickering and politicizing of everything...
But the point I was trying to get at is that sometimes the past needs to be reconciled and acknowledged before you can really look to the future. I see the GOP denying, repressing, and rewriting the past six years -- and then blaming the Dems for wanting to move forward with an honest appraisel of where we have been.
I like honesty. Neither party is very good at it. But today, I think the GOP is far more guilty of failing truth.
tp
Post a Comment