Joint Statement by President Hamid Karzai and Ambassador Richard Holbrooke
Presidential Palace
Kabul Afghanistan
Feb. 15, 2009
President Karzai [in Dari]: Today we have agreed that there will be no questions. I will say a few things and so will the U.S. government representative. We speak in Farsi.
Apologies for calling you late at night, and that you had to come here early in the morning. I hope that they will provide us a cup of tea here, both to us and you.
I want to welcome his Excellency Holbrooke to Afghanistan. And thank him for the messages he brought to us. At the outset I want Excellency Holbrooke to give his speech, and then I will talk about the points that we have agreed on.
Ambassador Holbrooke: Thank you Mr. President. And thank all of you for coming here this morning.
This is my only public press statement during my visit to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India. We have made a trip here on behalf of President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, and the new administration, to reaffirm America’s commitment to the effort in Afghanistan against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
I am accompanied in this trip by Ambassador William Wood, who has put forth efforts here in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General John Allen, Deputy Commander of Central Command, Major General Burt Field, my military advisor, and Mr. Paul Jones, my deputy in the office in Washington.
We have come here to listen and to learn your points of view. Of course this is not my first trip to Afghanistan. I came to here in 1971 as a young foreign service officer to visit your then peaceful and beautiful country. I travelled across the country and travelled over the Hindu Kush and fell in love with Afghanistan. I was here in 2006. It was a different country then.
During this trip I and my accompanying delegation met with many friends and allies. And to everyone we conveyed the same messages, on behalf of President Obama, with President Karzai I carried a personal message from President Obama, a message support for the people of Afghanistan and for the democratically elected government of Afghanistan.
President Obama also welcomed the suggestion President Karzai made in a letter President Karzai sent to President Obama just a few days ago. I tell you in advance that we accepted the proposal, but you have to wait for President Karzai to say what it was.
Secondly, we stated our strong belief that the electoral commission’s decision to have the election on August 20 was appropriate in the context of the conditions in Afghanistan today. And we support that decision. And President Obama and Secretary Clinton were very gratified to hear President Karzai reaffirm his support of the August 20 decision.
The Coalition forces, ISAF, will do its part in supporting that effort, as will the United Nations, as Kai Eide told President Karzai last night.
So with that, Mr. President, I want to thank you for your hospitality. Mr. Jones and I will be visiting Afghanistan with other colleagues regularly, and one of us will try to visit Afghanistan at least once a month. To convey the message of the new administration’s support to Afghanistan, and to improve the situation. Mr. President thank you very much.
President Karzai: Dear brothers and sisters, as Ambassador Holbrooke stated I had sent a letter to President Obama, in which I had requested Afghanistan’s participation in a re-assessment of the war on terror strategy, and I thank his Excellency Ambassador Holbrooke for conveying the message to us that the U.S. administration has accepted our participation in the re-assessment of the strategy for the war against terror. And soon a delegation headed by the Afghan Foreign Minister, Dr. Spanta, will be formed and will travel to the U.S. and take part in the re-assessment of the strategy.
Also we thank the U.S. government for honoring and supporting the IEC’s decision to hold the elections on August 20. As I have told you in the past, I and my government absolutely agree with these decisions, and be assured that we will hold the Afghan elections in the time specified with assurances of legitimacy and stability. I am also pleased with the recent agreement between the Afghan Defense Minister and General McKiernan, regarding a new policy for the prevention of civilian deaths, house searches during the night, and arrests, which we are seeking ways for implementing. And we hope that civilian causalities will decrease.
I thank Mr. Holbrooke and welcome him to Afghanistan, and convey my regards to the U.S. President and Secretary Clinton, and I thank them for accepting our proposal. The U.S.-Afghan friendship for sustaining security and improvement of the situation in Afghanistan, the region, and eventually their [the U.S.] security will continue.
Thank you.