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Skriven 2006-03-01 23:33:16 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (060301) for Wed, 2006 Mar 1
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President Meets with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 1, 2006

President Meets with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan
Presidential Palace
Kabul, Afghanistan


˙˙˙˙˙In Focus: Afghanistan
˙˙˙˙˙In Focus: Global Diplomacy

2:52 P.M. (Local)

PRESIDENT KARZAI: Well, such a wonderful moment for us in Afghanistan today
to have our great friend, our great supporter, a man that helped us
liberate, a man that helped us rebuild, a man that helped us move toward
the future, President Bush, today with us in Afghanistan.

I conveyed upon President Bush's arrival to him that when the Afghan people
come to know that you are here today, but when they see on the television
that we did not provide you the kind of hospitality perhaps we want to
provide you, I'll be in serious trouble. (Laughter.) But I'll have a lot of
explaining to do to the Afghan people.

Mr. President, welcome to Afghanistan. We owe a great, great deal in this
country's rebuilding -- peace, democracy, the strong steps toward the
future -- to your support, to your leadership, to the American people, and
to the way you have given your hand to the Afghan people.

I'm not going to go into the details of all that you've done for us -- it's
from the defeat of terrorism to peace in Afghanistan, to democracy, to
reconstruction, to the success of the whole process. Thank you very much,
Mr. President, and welcome to Afghanistan.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for having me. Laura
and I are honored to be here. It's such a thrill to come to a country which
is dedicating itself to the dignity of every person that lives here.

First of all, I want to thank you for the fantastic lunch we just had. I
did get a taste of Afghanistan hospitality, and it's good. I appreciate you
introducing me to many of the leaders of your government. I'm impressed by
their dedication to making sure the experience that you're going through,
experience of growing a democracy that honors and respects all, is
successful.

One of the messages I want to say to the people of Afghanistan is it's our
country's pleasure and honor to be involved with the future of this
country. We like stories of young girls going to school for the first time
so they can realize their potential. We appreciate a free press. We are
enthralled when we see an entrepreneurial class grow up where people are
able to work and realize their dreams. We understand the importance of
having a well-trained military dedicated to the sovereignty of the country
and to the peace of the people. We're impressed by the progress that your
country is making, Mr. President. A lot of it has to do with your
leadership.

Today, I not only had a good long visit with my friend, the President, but
we had a good visit with a lot of the folks who make this government work.
From here, I'll go to cut a ribbon at our new embassy. The embassy should
be a clear statement to the people in Afghanistan that we're dedicated to
helping. And then I'm going to go out to the base and thank some of our
troops who are here to protect our country, and, at the same time, help the
people of Afghanistan protect themselves.

One of the things I told the President, and told the members of your team
and your cabinet and the government, is that people all over the world are
watching the experience here in Afghanistan. I hope the people of
Afghanistan understand that as democracy takes hold, you're inspiring
others. And that inspiration will cause others to demand their freedom. And
as the world becomes more free, the world will become more peaceful.

And so I come as a friend, an ally, and a person like you, dedicated to
peace. Thank you for having me.

PRESIDENT KARZAI: Well, I guess we take some questions, Mr. President?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Why don't we take a couple.

PRESIDENT KARZAI: Two on each side?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Sure.

PRESIDENT KARZAI: All right.

PRESIDENT BUSH: We'll start with the AP guy. Terry, please. He asked a very
difficult question last time.

PRESIDENT KARZAI: He did?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Hopefully he'll tone it down some --

Q I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, there was a time when you talked
about getting Osama bin Laden dead or alive. Why is he still on the loose
five years later? And are you still confident that you'll get him?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I am confident he will be brought to justice. What's
happening is, is that we got U.S. forces on the hunt for not only bin
Laden, but anybody who plots and plans with bin Laden. There are Afghan
forces on the hunt for not only bin Laden, but those who plot and plan with
him. We've got Pakistan forces on the hunt. And part of my message to
President Musharraf is, is that it's important that we bring these people
to justice. He understands that. After all, they've tried to kill him four
times. So we've got a common alliance, all aimed at routing out people who
are evildoers, people who have hijacked a great religion and kill innocent
people in the name of that religion.

We're making progress of dismantling al Qaeda. Slowly but surely, we're
bringing the people to justice, and the world is better for it, as a result
of our steady progress.

You want to ask somebody?

PRESIDENT KARZAI: Yes. I'll ask Reuters.

Q Yes, please. Thank you, sir --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Oh, no, no --

PRESIDENT KARZAI: There's international Reuters, there's Afghan Reuters.

PRESIDENT BUSH: He didn't mean to. Sorry.

Q Mr. President, allow me to welcome you to Afghanistan first.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.

Q And I would like to ask you a couple of questions, if I may.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Sure.

Q Regarding the worsening situation in Afghanistan, the Afghan government
says that most of the violence emanates from Pakistan. Will you be
discussing in any way this flow of violence in Afghanistan with Pakistani
authorities?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Absolutely.

Q And my second question is regarding Iran's nuclear program --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes.

Q -- Iran states that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but you
seem to doubt them. There seems to be some sort of standoff. You don't
think that the standoff will affect the security of the region, and do you
think there is a way out of this standoff?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Great. First, yes, I absolutely will bring up the
cross-border infiltrations with President Musharraf. These infiltrations
are causing harm to friends, allies, and cause harm to U.S. troops. And
that will be a topic of conversation. It's an ongoing topic of
conversation.

Secondly, Iran must not have a nuclear weapon. The most destabilizing thing
that can happen in this region and in the world is for Iran to have a --
develop a nuclear weapon. And so the world is speaking with one voice to
the Iranians that it's okay for you to have a civilian power -- nuclear
power operation, but you shall not have the means, the knowledge to develop
a nuclear weapon.

And so we've joined with Russia as part of a diplomatic effort to solve
this problem that says Russia will provide enriched uranium to its civilian
nuclear power plant, and will collect the uranium after it's been used in
the plant.

I'll repeat to you, the most destablizing thing that can happen is for Iran
to have a nuclear weapon. And we will work with friends and allies to
convince them not to.

Steven.

Q Sir, you're going on to India from here. How close are you to sealing a
nuclear agreement with India? And what does it mean for the trip if you
don't get one?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Our relationship with India is broader than a -- than our
discussions about energy. Ours is a strategic relationship. It is a
relationship that's got strong ties because of economics and our military,
our desire to help democracies such as Afghanistan. Our people are talking
to the Indians today on the plane and we'll -- (inaudible) -- New Delhi
about trying to come to an agreement on a civilian nuclear power agreement.

But as I said in my speech in Washington, this is a difficult issue. It's a
difficult issue for the Indian government; it's a difficult issue for the
American government. And so we'll continue to dialogue and work, and
hopefully we can reach an agreement. If not, we'll continue to work on it
until we do. It's in our interests and the interests of the United States
-- it's in the interests of countries around the world that India develop a
nuclear power industry because that will help alleviate demand for fossil
fuels. And by alleviating demand for fossil fuels, it takes the price off
of gasoline at the pump. And so the faster the Indian economy growS, the
more fuel they demand; the more fuel they demand, it affects our gas prices
and it affects your gas prices.

So what we're trying to do is have an international consortium that will
enable countries to develop nuclear power industries in safe ways, ways
that will prevent proliferation, ways that will enable nations to meet
their energy needs without excessive consumption of fossil fuels.

PRESIDENT KARZAI: I will give a chance to the Afghan Television, for once.

Q Your Excellency President Bush, welcome to Afghanistan and wish you a
pleasant stay. The question is -- it has been four years since the presence
of the international forces in Afghanistan. However, the security situation
is increasingly deteriorating. What will be your long-term security policy
to Afghanistan? And the second part of the question is, how will the U.S.
policy be affected in regards to Afghanistan if Osama and Mullah Omar are
captured?

PRESIDENT BUSH: It's not a matter of if they're captured or brought to
justice, it's when they're brought to justice. The United States is here at
the request of an Afghan government elected by the people. We signed an
agreement in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., with the duly elected
President of your country, President Karzai. It's an agreement that sets
out a strategic relationship. It's an important relationship for our
country. It's an important relationship for Afghanistan.

But it's important for the people of Afghanistan to recognize that we're
here by mutual consent. We want to be here. We want to be here to help
Afghanistan grow its democracy, and to defeat those who will -- can't stand
the thought of freedom.

The President has talked to me a lot about this issue, assures me that the
government is sincere in its request that the United States and coalition
help Afghanistan grow its democracy. Our commitment is firm. Our desire is
to see this country flourish and set a great example not only in the
neighborhood, but around the world.

See, I hope -- I hope people of Afghanistan understand the people of
America have great -- got great regard for human life and human dignity,
that we care about the plight of people. We

-- when we saw the devastation in Pakistan, we were quick to respond with
help because we care about people. When we heard 73,000 people lost their
lives and 2.5 million people were displaced from their homes, it broke our
hearts. When we see HIV/AIDS ravishing an entire continent of Africa, we
care.

I'm going to repeat what I said before: We like stories, and expect
stories, of young girls going to school in Afghanistan. It means a lot to
the American people to hear the President say that. It means a lot for
people to realize that there is an entrepreneurial class that's beginning
to grow. We believe in hope, which is the exact opposite of the ideology of
the bin Ladens of the world, and the Taliban.

In our country, you can worship freely. You're equally American if you're a
Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Jew. You're equally American if you don't
believe in an Almighty. Under the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, there is no
religious freedom. You have no chance to express yourself in the public
square without being punished. There is no capacity to realize your full
potential.

And so we're committed. We're committed to universal values. We believe --
we believe everybody desires to be free. And we know that history has
taught us that free societies yield the peace. And that's what we want. We
want peace for our children, and we want peace for the Afghan children, as
well.

PRESIDENT KARZAI: Good. Wonderful. Great. Thank you very much.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.

END 3:05 P.M. Local
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