Speeches
Ambassador William Wood's Spring Media Roundtable
March 18, 2008
AMBASSADOR WOOD: Good morning. I am delighted that you have all come and I am delighted to have this opportunity to talk to you. But I don’t really have a good reason for us all being here today, except that when we all got together in December I said that I hoped for the opportunity for us to talk together more frequently, and this seemed like a good time to do it.
As you can tell from the beautiful weather, spring is here, which means increased economic activity, it means increased movement around the country. It is a good time. It may also mean resumption of a higher level of fighting. It may mean increased activity in the poppy fields, both by growers and by those who oppose the growers. It also means easier transportation by air around the country. I was in Qal-e-Naw two days ago and had very good meetings with the Governor and the Provincial Council there, as well as with the commander and the participants of the Spanish-led PRT.
The one element of news lately has been increased prices for food, in particular prices for bread. And I am pleased to say that in response to a request from the government a couple of months ago, the United States has been able to divert some food assistance to Afghanistan, some of which was distributed in Kabul I believe yesterday.
We believe that 2008 is going to be a good year in many, many ways. We believe the economy will continue to grow. We believe that local governance will continue to improve, thanks to better and better appointments of governors and district leaders and chiefs of police.
The Focused District Development Program to retrain police on a district by district basis is moving forward well, and we are optimistic that it will be a success.
The Parliament is working hard, and after a good year in 2007 in the Parliament we expect a good year in 2008. There is an ambitious international agenda in which the next important event will be the summit in Bucharest of the NATO allies in the first week of April. I think that there will also be an important conference hosted by France in the spring or early summer. So Afghanistan remains at the top of the international agenda.
I want to wish everyone here a Happy New Year and sympathize with some of my Western colleagues who are recovering from St. Patrick’s Day. In deference to them, I will try to speak slowly and softly. [Laughter].
With those few opening remarks, let me say we’ve got about an hour or a little bit more and I will try to respond to your questions. Again, I thank you for coming, and the real purpose for our getting together is for us to get together so that we can talk. Thank you very much.
QUESTION: Sir, Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown preparedness that they are ready to send their troops under NATO’s command to Afghanistan, and that remarks by him face reactions of Afghans. There was a protest in Paktia Province against it. So if that happens, what will be the U.S. opinion or position on this issue?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: I think that the question is a bit speculative. Russia has legitimate interests in Afghanistan, just as Afghanistan has legitimate interests in Russia. Afghanistan has attended meetings chaired by Russia and certainly the Russian Ambassador here has played a constructive role in a number of forums. No troops can be in Afghanistan without Afghanistan’s consent. This is a partnership. So I think your question should be directed to the government of Afghanistan.
QUESTION: A question on the growth of poppy cultivation and drug trafficking. The Taliban themselves have said that there are government officials involved in the drug trafficking and poppy cultivation. Since they have a reason, saying that during [their regime] the poppy cultivation was not too much, and it has grown after the collapse of the Taliban. So what’s your opinion on this?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: Of course, the Taliban spends all of its time attempting to blame everyone but itself for its own sins. The Taliban itself has stated that poppy cultivation and trafficking is contrary to Islam, and the Taliban has denied they are in any way involved in poppy cultivation or trafficking. And everyone in this room and everyone in Afghanistan knows that’s a lie.
So I am less inclined to listen to the comments of people who are so obviously lying, and who so much want others to follow their lies.
The report of the United Nations Office of Drug Control has been very clear. Where the government presence is strongest, poppy cultivation goes down. Where the Taliban is most active, poppy cultivation goes up. The Taliban uses poppy cultivation to finance its activities. The Taliban cooperates with criminal elements who are also profiting from poppy cultivation. The Taliban and these criminal elements engage in poppy cultivation and drug trafficking without regard to the law of Afghanistan or to the safety and health of the people of Afghanistan. If the Taliban wishes to find who is responsible for poppy cultivation here, I believe they should first look to themselves. Thank you.
QUESTION: Last year the coalition forces announced that 2007 would be a good year, and --
Voice: Speak louder, please.
QUESTION: According to the coalition forces and NATO forces, at the beginning of the year 2007, it was said to be that the year 2007 will be a good year, but at the end of the year it was proved that it was the bloodiest year in the history of Afghanistan. Now Mr. Ambassador you are saying that you went to Badghis, and you wished us all a happy new year, and you said things are fine. It’s clear that when you went there, there has been a lot of precautions taken. The ordinary people cannot really easily go back and forth and travel to those provinces and there are a lot of problems. So what are the things that you see positive that’s going to happen in the year 2008 that can really make us hopeful for a calm and good year for 2008?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: We have discussed this before. The Taliban had a very bad year on the battlefield. They were expelled from the districts of Sangin and Musa Qala. They lost many of their leaders -- Mullah Dadullah being the most prominent, but many others. There were many engagements with the Taliban initiated by the coalition and the Afghan National Army, and we are seeing many indications that the Taliban is disorganized and confused.
But the Taliban has not been passive in the face of this defeat. It has shifted its tactics away from the traditional tactics of insurgency and toward the tactics of terrorism. More and more, it is targeting innocent civilians who, you are right, do not have the same defenses as military forces or ambassadors. That is because the Taliban cannot target those who do have defenses.
So it is a sign of lack of capability by the Taliban that they are targeting only civilians. Or better said, they are targeting civilians more.
This is an evil strategy, but unfortunately, it is an effective strategy. But the government, assisted by the coalition, is also responding to this change in Taliban tactics. They are responding by strengthening the Afghan National Army. But even more important than that, they are responding by strengthening the Afghan National Police, which is the national security force that lives with the people. The wage and rank reform of the police last year and the FDD program this year are just the most visible elements of that.
They are also responding by strengthening local governance with better governors, better district leaders and so on. Part of this effort by the International Directorate for Local Governance in the Palace under Mr. Popal is to bring communities together more effectively.
The Taliban is not so strong. Communities can be strong when they can work together with confidence in each other and confidence in their leadership. But this requires good governance and good leadership, because community defense should not recreate the old militias or other illegitimate power structures that were known in Afghanistan in the past, and in some cases continued into the present.
It is always difficult to predict a trend in terrorism because they are such isolated acts of evil, but as you know, violence over the last couple of weeks or several weeks in Kabul has been down dramatically. And with a few exceptions, like the horrible bombings in Kandahar, violence around the country has been down over the last several months. We will have to see how the spring and summer unfold. But as I say, I am optimistic. Thank you.
QUESTION: You’ve got 3,200 American troops arriving in the country very shortly. What impact is this troop surge going to have on operations?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: The question refers to the arrival of 3,200 United States Marines into Afghanistan who will be here in the next month or six weeks. I think that the Marines will have two primary functions. First, to support the other troops in Regional Command South, which is currently under Canadian command, in order to strengthen the offensive and defensive activities of ISAF and the coalition in the south. And second, to provide support and force protection for mentors and trainers and other activities aimed at strengthening the Afghan Army and the Afghan Police.
I believe that the arrival of the Marines simply reinforces what is proving to be a successful strategy. It also demonstrates the commitment of the United States to Afghanistan over the long term. Thank you.
QUESTION: Just a follow-up, sorry. Do you use this surge in the style of Iraq, the way the surge is being used there? And is more troops the answer to improving security?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: I think it is almost always wrong to conduct policy or to interpret history by analogy. I think that Iraq is one kind of situation with one kind of threat and one kind of response and one kind of resource level. Afghanistan is a completely different situation in every way. Afghanistan has many advantages that Iraq does not have. The whole political process since the ouster of the Taliban, the broad international commitment to Afghanistan, and the openness of Afghanistan to economic development are just a couple of examples of the advantages it has.
I think that the biggest disadvantage that Afghanistan has is that this year we are finding ourselves more than 30 years from the beginning of governmental breakdown in Afghanistan. The Daud coup, the communist party coup, the invasion by the Soviet Union, the Mujahedeen period, the Taliban period have all exhausted the national institutions of Afghanistan, so that the people are just tired. And it is I think, that is the most important challenge that Afghanistan faces, to recover its hope and its confidence in its own leadership and institutions.
The Afghan people are very strong and very resilient. The international community is committed to assist them, and I think that we are seeing governmental leadership in Afghanistan getting better every day. Thank you.
QUESTION: Sir, you described the Taliban as very weak element and you said that they are not capable of facing the Afghan government, but they have recently announced that they are going to perform a thousand suicide attacks over Kabul in the next summer. So are there any precautions taken for that? What’s your opinion on this?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: First, I don’t think I said the Taliban was weak. I said they were weak in comparison to the strength of the communities of Afghanistan. I don’t believe in Taliban threats. But what a horrible thing to suggest, that a thousand people will kill themselves in order to kill other people too. I think that the best way to defend against that is for us all to unite together. As I said, I believe that Kabul right now is safer than it has been for some time. Thank you.
QUESTION: From BBC Radio. People of Afghanistan are eager to hear very positive things that will make them optimistic and hopeful for the future. And at the beginning of this year you are talking to us regarding the increase in the number of the troops, and so far they have been hearing this. What do you think, by increasing the number of troops do you think people still will be hopeful for a safe and better future during this year?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: I think that we have already seen the announcement of additional troops from the United States, and I think that the NATO Summit in Bucharest April 4 and 5 will also provide good news for Afghanistan.
During the course of the year more roads will be built, more children will be put in school, more medical facilities will be built, more electrical energy will be available. I am told that work is progressing on the second round of the bilateral peace jirga between Afghanistan and Pakistan. I think that there are many reasons to be optimistic, but there are reasons to be concerned. And you can’t talk about the good news without remembering some of the bad news. Taliban terrorism is bad news, and the government of Afghanistan, the people of Afghanistan, supported by the international coalition, must find a way to respond to this. I believe they are finding a way to respond to it, but it is still a problem.
Corruption still remains a problem, fed by the drug trade, and it is fed by the Taliban. I think there have been big improvements there, but corruption remains a problem. And I think there is still room for improvement in governmental operations. And the United States is doing what it can do to train and assist the government so that it can function as professionally and as smoothly as the people of Afghanistan want it to function. I think that the improvement in local governance is an important step forward there.
It is important to understand why improvement in local governance is important. Only 30 percent of the people of Afghanistan live in the population centers. Seventy percent of Afghanistan lives in the villages and farms and rural communities of the country. And the effort at improved local governance is an effort to connect with the people where they live and work and have their families. It is an effort to strengthen communities against the Taliban, and others who move through these rural communities, in order to come together for an attack and then disperse again. I think it’s working well. Thank you.
QUESTION: What’s the U.S. expectations for Bucharest Summit? Do you think that NATO may [inaudible] countries which have the membership of NATO will send more troops to Afghanistan? And how do you consider that the [inaudible] increase in Afghanistan besides national and international [inaudible]?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: The question was? Because I’m not sure I understood it?
QUESTION: Despite the efforts of international community and the government of Afghanistan, why is the war and the drug trafficking increasing? That’s the last thing.
AMBASSADOR WOOD: Regarding the reaffirmation of the commitment by the international community to support the government of Afghanistan, a very strong reaffirmation. I also believe that some of the allies and other partners will announce additional provision of troops or other assistance. And I think it will be a very successful summit symbolizing the linkage between -- not only symbolizing, but exemplifying, the linkage between the government of Afghanistan and the governments of the NATO alliance and its partnerships.
Regarding your second question, I think we’ve already answered that. Again, I think that the enthusiasm of the period of the ouster of the Taliban, the emergency loya jirga, the interim government, the constitutional loya jirga, the elections, and the installation of the new government were in the past. During that period, as the nation was recreating itself, some illegitimate elements used that period to consolidate their power.
Now we are at a moment where the excitement of these great changes has passed, and the government of Afghanistan, supported by the international community, is attempting to carry out the hard work of governing and at the same time the hard work of addressing these illegitimate elements that consolidated while the government itself and the constitution were forming themselves. These are not easy tasks and they will not be achieved without sacrifice, but they will be achieved. And I know that the international community is prepared to share with the people and government of Afghanistan the sacrifice necessary to achieve these objectives.
QUESTION: During this year, Afghan year, what was the achievements of the Afghan government in the political, can you mention to us any specific things in the political area?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: I would just mention that the three achievements that I think are the most important of the year 2007 in Afghanistan. First, as I’ve said, we began this year, we all -- Afghans and internationals -- began this year nervous about what the Taliban might achieve militarily. You remember that people were afraid that Kandahar City might be isolated or that there might be a direct assault on Kandahar. As we all know, that didn’t happen. Related to that, the improvement of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Police were important advances in 2007.
On the political side I would say the great advance of the last year has been a government that is better connected to the people. And I think that has two aspects. One is that the Parliament functioned better and that is important because the Parliament is the branch of government in Afghanistan, just like in the United States, that is closest to the people. And at the same time, the executive branch also moved closer to the people by improving local governance. So that’s the big advance on the political side.
On the economic side, Afghanistan had the fastest growing economy in South Asia, growing at more than 13 percent. That’s the legitimate economy. That means jobs, it means employment, it means products. It means traffic jams, but it means a better life. Related to that expanding economy, there were more services being delivered to the people as a result of the economy, and of those services, health and education are the two most important. So I believe that the last year has been a good, important year for Afghanistan. But as I said earlier, there continue to be problems of corruption and lawlessness, problems of terrorism, and a continued need to strengthen the government institutions.
So although last year was a good year, I believe there are still things to do this year. Thank you.
QUESTION: Earlier you said we are seeing more indicators that the Taliban is disorganized. You did mention leaders and leadership over the last year, but besides that can you give us some details or explain why you think that is?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: I can’t talk about everything that makes me come to that conclusion, but for instance, we have seen a separation of Bakht Mohammed from the Taliban leadership. This is the clearest division inside the Taliban leadership I am aware of for some time. I think that the government will tell you that there are numbers of Taliban who are telling the government sources of information that they are less confident of their way forward.
The Taliban shift of tactics from attempting to substitute for the government as an insurgent, to attacking the people as terrorists, represents a genuine shift in direction that I think makes it difficult for those who are not ideologically committed to the Taliban, and opens the door for reconciliation.
The fact that there are numbers of foreign fighters among the Taliban in the field would seem to indicate that the Afghan Taliban do not serve the Taliban’s purposes adequately. The more aggressive posture by the government of Pakistan, even at a time when the nation was going through elections, and even when it had suffered the tragedy of the assassination of Mrs. Bhutto, I think has also opened up some fracture lines among the Taliban. Thank you.
QUESTION: Sir, as you mentioned previously that the Russian troops or any of the troops can enter Afghanistan only if the government of Afghanistan agrees, so in case the government of Afghanistan agrees on deployment of Russian troops to Afghanistan, what will be your, the U.S. position, sir? And in the mean time, he mentioned that we’ve been told that the Taliban are being weaker and weaker day by day and they are becoming desperate, they are becoming disorganized, but the reports that are being prepared to the U.S. sources and they are being publicized shows that the Taliban are strengthening day by day. And the last report that you indirectly mentioned to us that by the U.S. National Intelligence Chief that Afghan government only controls 30 percent of the country. Doesn’t this show that the Taliban are strengthening day by day?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: I think that the question of the U.S. view of what the Afghan government should decide about the Russians is really irrelevant. The U.S. government will support the decisions of the Afghan government.
Regarding the statements of the Director of National Intelligence, I think the key question here revolves around the meaning of the word “control”, and I think the Director of National Intelligence was using a very narrow definition of control.
We know that the control of the government of Afghanistan is deeper and stronger and wider across the country than it was a year ago. This does not mean, however, that in perhaps 70 percent of the districts some Taliban unit cannot move secretly and safely inside the district. So even though the district is loyal to the government, is ruled by the government, and is dominated by elements that support the government, it doesn’t mean that the Taliban has been completely eradicated or eliminated from that district.
And I think that the Director of National Intelligence was using the word control in that sense, to mean perfect control. I think there are large parts of the country where the government does not have perfect control. Just like there are many countries in the world, and you may be able to think of some in this neighborhood, who don’t have perfect control over 100 percent of the national territory. That does not mean that the government is not fully in power and it does not mean that the government exercises the legitimate authority given to it by the people. And I think the most important point is that the government of Afghanistan is determined to gain perfect democratic control over the entire country and has the commitment of the international community behind it.
QUESTION: I was wondering in the coming months whether the U.S. [inaudible], whether the U.S. military will become more engaged in the reconciliation process which has been [inaudible], and whether [inaudible] with U.S. [inaudible]?
AMBASSADOR WOOD: You originally asked the question, would the U.S. military become more involved in reconciliation. I will only say that the U.S. military operates as part of the U.S. government, so let me respond on behalf of the United States as a whole.
The most important thing to understand about reconciliation is that it is reconciliation among Afghans. Reconciliation with the United States or reconciliation with Pakistan or reconciliation with anyone else is irrelevant. So we are not parties to the reconciliation. But we support the government’s initiative for reconciliation just as we have supported the PTS program, we are prepared to support the government’s effort to take reconciliation to another level. We have said that in public and we have said that in private to the government.
We do believe that reconciliation needs to observe a few principles. As a pre-condition, we believe that reconciliation should require that the reconcilee sincerely express his respect and support for the constitution of the country. We believe that the reconcilee must sincerely mean to live a lawful life in Afghanistan. And lastly, we do not believe that those who have close ties to the global terrorist movement, al-Qaida and others, should be eligible for reconciliation in Afghanistan when they have nor reconciled with their other victims around the world.
So with those few points, we have supported reconciliation and are prepared to continue to support it.
Thank you all very much. Let me wish you all again a Happy New Year.
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