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| Updated: 01-Aug-2006 | NATO Speeches |
Kabul, 20 July 200 |
Press conference by
NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer,
Hamid Karzai: (Speaking Pashtu)... I thank you very much once again, Mr. Secretary General and welcome to Afghanistan. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer: Thank you very much, Mr. President. Karzai: Do you understand Pashtu? De Hoop Scheffer: It is... the last Pashtu part I understood. Karzai: Okay. (Laughs)... De Hoop Scheffer: My Pashtu is not what it used to be, but I'll do my best. When I come back I come back with a few more words. Karzai: Okay. De Hoop Scheffer: Mr. President, as usual, it's a pleasure and a privilege to meet you, and I think quite honestly the visit I'm paying to Afghanistan comes at a rather pivotal moment. I'll explain why. NATO is close to the moment where the activities of NATO ISAF in the south, the southern provinces, will formally come under NATO command. The coalition will transfer the command to NATO. Very important indeed in the framework of the longer term commitment of NATO to Afghanistan, very important that NATO takes its responsibility also in an areas which is difficult at the moment. But I told President Karzai that NATO will do its job. Pivotal also because I think, and this was the expression I used in my conversation with President Karzai, we have to lift our game. NATO is lifting its game in the south and hopefully before long also in the east so that the all of Afghanistan will be under the responsibility of NATO ISAF. But the international community has to lift its game as well by also showing commitment to the development of Afghanistan. Because it's right that there will be no security without development, not lasting security. But the opposite is also true. In other words, if NATO is creating security and stability it must be accompanied by the full attention of the international community for the development of Afghanistan. And the third and perhaps most important party then, if we talk about lifting our game, is of course the party which matters most, the Afghans, the Afghan government, the leadership of President Karzai, the leadership of the ministers and the government present here. In other words, we all have to lift our game and I think personally that Afghanistan, also given NATO's commitment, and it is NATO's most important operation, and we pay a lot of attention to it and devote a lot of energy to it, Afghanistan is worth it. But it must be accompanied by others lifting their game. That is the pivotal message. And I also know that a country in full development in Afghanistan, and let us also, Mr. President, colleagues, let us also realize what enormous achievements have been realized over the past years. Let's not be gloomy. Let's not only see the downside of it. There are 8500 schools in Afghanistan. There are six million children going to school. There is a democratically elected president. There is a Parliament. There are provincial councils. So let's not look at it from the gloomy say, but if I say we have to lift our game, I say that because I think we can do better, and we must do better. And you can rest assured that NATO will do what it is supposed to do. We'll do that, of course, in full cooperation with the Afghan National Army, in being involved also in training the Afghan National Army, possibly equipping the Afghan National Army, and Mr. Wardak, General Wardak was in Brussels in June to discuss it with Defence ministers. In other words, my message here today is, let us lift our game, and lifting the game means lifting the game of the international community, lifting the game of the Afghan government in the fight against narcotics, in the fight against corruption, in having the competence and decent people in the places where they should be. In other words, it is an important and huge endeavour, but we will succeed. Mr. President, that is my message. It is, as usual, an honour and a privilege to be received by you and to be in Afghanistan. Thank you so much. Karzai: Good to see you sir. Let me add to my friend's remarks, the Secretary General's remarks, on lifting of the games. Afghanistan is the beneficiary of the lifting of the games on all sides. Afghanistan will be. You, sir, the international community, are here to help the Afghan people find more security, a better life. Today and for tomorrow. And Afghanistan's role here is first, we will first lift our game, and then we'll expect your part to lift the game. So we will be immensely eager to do whatever we can, as a nation, to be worthy of the attention and the help that the world is giving us, and that lifting of the game in the sense of fighting narcotics, ending corruption, and improving government is our task and we will live up to it, as a commitment from our nation. De Hoop Scheffer: The Afghan citizen, not only in the south, but you asked about the south, has to see that his or her standard of living will improve. Because if I asked... if I ask that Afghan citizen what his biggest problem is, he'll say I want to see development, a job, a school, water, electricity. NATO cannot, of course, take Afghanistan development on its shoulders. NATO is a political military alliance. But the NATO soldiers coming, and let me stress again, NATO will double the number of military, the number of soldiers the coalition had in the south, we're really coming in in a very serious way, the NATO young men and young women will do everything they can, and they will succeed and they will not fail to create that climate of security and stability. So that, I come back again to my mantra, so that the Afghan government and the international community can work together for the development of their country. It is their country. NATO is there to assist. NATO is there to help. We'll not fail because we cannot afford to fail. And every party which tried to spoil this process in the south will feel the consequences, I can assure you. Q: Mr. President, aren't you afraid that a doubling of the number of foreign troops could lead to more violence, more resilience against foreigners, as we have seen in Iraq? Karzai: It's a very relevant question. I'm glad you asked it. If you can recall in 2001, when the international community arrived in Afghanistan after September 11th tragic incident, terrorism, the al-Qaeda and the Taliban associates of theirs were defeated in this country in less than a month and a half. The reasons were clear. The desire of the Afghan people and the power generated by the international community. The two combined and gave us the four years of achievement of the return of four and a half million refugees in less than four years, of the return of our children's schools, of the presidential and parliamentary elections, the constitution, the institution-building, an improved economy, higher wages and all of that. You know, I'm not going to talk about that. The Afghan people today as well, in spite of some of the incidents, some of the mistakes, that we all make, as we travel on the road, very much want the presence of the international community because we recognize as a nation that we will not be able to travel this journey alone without the international community, whether it's the fight against terrorism, which is a fight by all of us, by the whole international community, or whether it's the defence of Afghanistan against terrorism, which is again, the fight of the Afghan people with the international community, or the rebuilding of Afghanistan towards a better, more prosperous future. So we recognize and we need and we appreciate the help of the international community. So do Afghans. Now, in the attacks on the international community of Afghanistan, on the aid workers, engineers, or soldiers, if the Afghan people are asking for security, then who is attacking security forces? If the Afghan people are asking for schools every day in this very place where we are having this conference right now, I conduct my meetings with Afghan people. Every day without an exception, sir, here or when I'm in the provinces, the Afghan people ask for more schools, more help, services, more clinics, more reconstruction. So if you're asking for something we would not be the ones attacking a total stranger. It must be somewhere, somebody else, and that's the one, the element of terrorism that we're fighting together. De Hoop Scheffer: The mission of the coalition is the mission which we qualify as counter terrorism. The ISAF mission, on the basis of a mandate of the United Nations Security Council is a mission which is, if I translate it into my own words, focused on assisting the Afghan government to extend its authority, as it is in any normal country, of a larger part of the nation. But let there be no mistake, as I was answering your colleague, let nobody make the mistake that NATO sends it soldiers in the framework of NATO ISAF with one armed tied behind their back. In other words, let no spoiler have the illusion that when he will try on NATO he will win. And you have already seen, although that is not yet in the framework of NATO ISAF, because their formal moment is near now, you have already seen United Kingdom, Canadian and Dutch forces operate against spoilers in an efficient and effective way. But the missions are distinct. NATO ISAF has this mandate, has this mandate as I have described it. Operation Enduring Freedom is the counter terrorism. They are distinct. But we have a system to deconflict them let nobody make a mistake. That would be my central line. Karzai: Very good. I like your use of terminology of spoilers. I will use it as well in the future. De Hoop Scheffer: Thank you Mr. President. You're underlining in your question, Madam, the need and that is not only NATO, it is certainly also already being done by the coalition and the United States of America is doing a lot in this respect, you're underlining the need, I think I made also reference too in my introductory words, for adequate training. I was at the KMTC this afternoon and I saw how effective and how well there the Afghan National Army is trained and what progress they have made. You can't expect of any army to be in such a short time a professional and fully equipped army. In other words, what we'll go on doing and what is important as was underlined by the President, and underlined by General Wardak when he was in Brussels, it is of great importance, and NATO has a large experience there, to train the Afghan National Army militarily, and may I add, a bit overstepping the line of my mandate as a NATO Secretary General now, I think it's as important, and here again I come to the responsibility of other parts of the international community, that the same happens with the Afghan National Police. It is necessary in any nation... in my nation The Netherlands, the army and the police are well equipped to do what they're supposed to do. In other words, I take your question and NATO will do its part, as the NATO allies are already doing, in seeing that we can contribute to make that happen as soon as possible. Q: Meaning having better equipped police in Afghan districts in adequate numbers, with good equipment and the means to provide security for our people. Second, that in the fight against terrorism, the international community, all of us, should go and also address if there are any sources of training, places of training, of equipping and of motivation(?) to terrorism, whether it's in Afghanistan, or elsewhere in the world we should also focus there. In other words, fighting the symptoms and fighting the roots of it wherever they are. De Hoop Scheffer: To avoid any mistake, let me answer you, sir, that the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Jones, present here, has presented and got approval for what we call in our terminology a revised operational plan, which is accompanied by robust rules of engagement, as we call them. And rules of engagement, as you know, decide what a soldier, what a commander can do in certain circumstances. You're right in saying, and I keep stressing, that the prime responsibility and mandate of ISAF is not counter terrorism. But I say again, that nobody can expect NATO to send soldiers into Afghanistan or into the south with one arm tied behind their back. In other words, if, I use the word again, there are spoilers and they can come from all kinds of directions, they can be Taliban, you know, they can be drug lords, they can be war lords. I mean, there are many kinds of spoilers, right? Normal criminals. If they try to intimidate or make the work of ISAF not possible, ISAF will react on the basis of those robust rules of engagement. |
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