SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH AFGHANISTAN'S PRESIDENT KARZAI, UN OFFICIAL JAN KUBIS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Remarks With Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Head of UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan Jan Kubis

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Kabul, Afghanistan

July 12, 2014

---

PRESIDENT KARZAI: (Via interpreter) In the name of God, (inaudible) media, welcome to today’s conference. You have been waiting since Iftar. I apologize for that. Today, we have His Excellency John Kerry, Secretary of State to the United States with us, as well as His Exellency Jan Kubis, Special Representative of the United Nations to Afghanistan. As you’re all aware that his visit to Afghanistan – John Kerry’s visit to Afghanistan was about elections, and His Excellency’s Jan Kubis’s effort and hard work about the elections of Afghanistan. He’s been involved in that.

Dear (inaudible) countrymen, the first round and second round of the election in Afghanistan has been held. Second round of the elections – voices of fraud have been heard, and in order to reach and address the issues and establish some sort of understanding between them has (inaudible) has started.

This effort’s been undertaken by the (inaudible) presidents as well as the commissions – election commissions, compliance commissions. After as well as (inaudible) the votes were counted, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Abdullah announced that in order to address the problems of election, mainly fraud, ask the United Nations to intervene and find a possible solution.

I and my deputies, in order to speed up these efforts and in order to avoid any kind of misunderstanding, we accepted Dr. Abdullah Abdullah’s request. After that, we had a discussion with Mr. Jan Kubis, who was ready to intervene and find a solution. And following that, I talked to my brother Abdullah Abdullah on the phone, and he agreed.

After that, I talked to Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai on the phone and asked him if he agrees to Dr. Abdullah’s request. He said whatever solution that can address this problem is welcomed by him, and he accepted our requests. As you are all aware that after two – election 2009, I always try to strengthen our Afghan national election institution, and it should – (inaudible) is to run under the leadership of the Afghans. Considering the current situation and to speed up the process, we accepted the intervention of United Nations. Mr. Jan Kubis started his efforts to address this.

His Excellency John Kerry, Secretary of State to the United States of America, has been in contact with candidates and he eventually traveled to Afghanistan so that he can find a possible solution along with the presidential candidates tonight. As you witnessed on – they had a press conference, both brothers – our candidates, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai along with His Excellency John Kerry and Mr. Jan Kubis at the – they had some announcements which I welcome (inaudible) announcement and supporters’ announcements, and I hope that 100 percent audit of the votes will take place and start as soon as possible so that the nation of Afghanistan finally elect their next president.

We hope that the commissions – the commission IEC and – both commissions, the election commission and the compliance commission – will accept these suggestions and speed up the process in cooperation with United Nations and international observers. The people of Afghanistan all have been patient so far, and at the meantime, they all (inaudible) and they would like to hear soon about the result of the election and witness their next president of Afghanistan. And the work of the government’s been slowed down these days and their hope is that the audit that’s been announced today, that 100 percent audit will take place, will start as soon as possible, the best way possible, so that as soon as this process completed, the inauguration ceremony will take place for the next president of Afghanistan.

It was supposed to take place on August 2. We were prepared – all the preparation were made, but now I hope that the commissions will (inaudible) this and agree this – to this suggestion and finish and conclude this as soon as possible so that we can have the next president of Afghanistan – elect the next president of Afghanistan and the inauguration will take place.

Afghanistan president will be a strong president, the people of Afghanistan will take (inaudible). The Afghan people are committed and united and they stand on each other and this land, this soil is (inaudible) service of the Afghan people, and it’s been always protected. But we (inaudible) by the people of Afghanistan. It will continue. The Afghan people are committed for democracy and they believe, beside all the (inaudible), beside all the instabilities and (inaudible) and uncertainties, all the people were encouraged and convinced to participate and elect the next president of Afghanistan as well as provincial council. The Afghan people votes is to be respected. We will respect and honor their votes, and the next president will take over (inaudible).

I would like to stop now and hand it – allow His Excellency John Kerry and which – His Excellency (inaudible) to deliver (inaudible), a mission that keep its destiny, its own hand, well determined future.

SECRETARY KERRY: Well, Mr. President Karzai, thank you very, very much, sir. It is a pleasure to be with you again. And I want to thank you for your very generous hospitality, and again, I missed Iftar tonight because we were busy having conversations. But last night, you entertained us with great stories and a great sense of the unbelievable generosity of Afghanistan, and we’re very grateful to you.

I also am particularly grateful – I had a chance to speak a few minutes ago at the UN Headquarters with both of the candidates, Dr. Ghani and Dr. Abdullah. I think it is fair to say that both of them spoke with great eloquence about their vision for Afghanistan and about the choice that they are making to come together for the unity of the country. I want to thank President Karzai for his role in supporting this effort in these last days, and even before I came here, to make it clear that he knew that it was important that the democracy that is springing up here be given its opportunity to have full bloom. And that is something that he is deeply committed to, and in these next days, we will be able to achieve.

President Karzai and I have traveled an interesting journey in the last years. We’ve known each other on many different – in many different events and many different times, but none more so than in 2009 when I had the privilege of spending a fair amount of time with him talking about how to help grow this democracy. We took long walks here on the palace grounds, we spent meals together, we talked through a very difficult period. And I witnessed his political skill and his ability to be able to try to put the country first, ahead of any other interests. Again tonight, President Karzai is doing that, and he has done so in the last days by honoring the notion that the international community could play a constructive role, and by inviting us to be helpful in the effort to try to bring the candidates together in a thoughtful way.

This will be still a difficult road because there are important obligations of audit. There will be difficult choices that will be made. It will still require leadership and statesmanship from both of the candidates. But tonight, Afghanistan saw a moment of what unity can mean. Tonight, Afghanistan saw two opposing candidates with passionate supporters bring their supporters together in the interests of country, in the interests of something bigger than each of them individually. We hope that the promise of the next weeks will deliver the authenticity and credibility that the people of Afghanistan deserve in the presentation of the next president of this country.

And so I thank President Karzai for his willingness to move the inauguration in response to the request of both candidates and the United Nations. I know he had been planning to leave on the 2nd of August, but he is willing to obviously stay the course because he is invested in this democracy, as are the people of the country. So I thank him for that. I am grateful for, again, the willingness to work with us and the great hospitality that we’ve had.

And because of that, if this works, if people will stay the course and everybody works together, the people of Afghanistan, for the first time in the history of the country, will have the peaceful transition at the ballot box of one president to another. That’s worth the fight, and I’m proud to be here with America standing behind Afghanistan, and President Obama could not be more pleased and more prepared to help complete this journey. Thank you.

MR. KUBIS: Your Excellency, President Karzai, may I start by applauding your strong and dedicated leadership and your exceptional commitment to the political transition – indeed, a first process of this kind in the modern history of Afghanistan. That is twice as important because it’s happening at the same time as the country’s undergoing another difficult transition, security transition. As the country is taking its fate fully in her hands, there are questions about its political transition. There are questions about commitment, Mr. President. You proved all those skeptics wrong.

Secretary Kerry, if I may say, Afghanistan is blessed that it has such a strong strategic partner as the United States, and Afghanistan is blessed to have such a committed personal friend in yourself. Whenever there is a need, you are here, and you deliver miracles, because what we witnessed today, it was not just a top-notch diplomatic achievement; it was close to a miracle. As the third point, I applaud the commitment of both presidential candidates, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, for their commitment to the unity, prosperity, stability, and peace here in Afghanistan. They showed it strongly today in spite, again, of perhaps setbacks, disappointments, and nevertheless, as they showed today, they can walk together to the better – to a better future, hand in hand.

We as the UN, as always, will accompany Afghanistan on this way forward. Thank you for your attention.

DOD SAYS CONTINGENCY PLANS BEING MADE FOR FULL AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Contingency Plans Begin for Possible Full Afghanistan Withdrawal
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2014 – President Barack Obama today informed Afghan President Hamid Karzai that because the Afghan leader has demonstrated that it is unlikely that he will sign the bilateral security agreement on a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan beyond this year, he has asked the Pentagon to ensure that it has adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014.
In a summary of the Obama-Karzai phone call released to reporters, White House officials said Obama is leaving open the possibility of concluding a bilateral security agreement with Afghanistan later this year.

“However, the longer we go without a BSA, the more challenging it will be to plan and execute any U.S. mission,” they added. “Furthermore, the longer we go without a BSA, the more likely it will be that any post-2014 U.S. mission will be smaller in scale and ambition.”

Soon after, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released a statement expressing his “strong support” for the president’s decision.

"This is a prudent step, given that President Karzai has demonstrated that it is unlikely that he will sign the bilateral security agreement, which would provide DOD personnel with critical protections and authorities after 2014,” the secretary said. He also commended the efforts of Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., commander of U.S. forces and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and other military leaders to provide flexibility to the president as the United States works to determine the future of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

"As the United States military continues to move people and equipment out of the Afghan theater, our force posture over the next several months will provide various options for political leaders in the United States and NATO,” Hagel said in his statement. “And during this time, DOD will still continue planning for U.S. participation in a NATO-led mission focused on training, advising, and assisting Afghan security forces, as well as a narrowly focused counterterrorism mission.”
The United States will consult closely with NATO allies and ISAF partners in the months ahead, he added, noting that he looks forward to discussing U.S. planning with NATO and ISAF defense ministers in Brussels this week.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL MAKES REMARKS AFTER MEETING WITH PRESIDENT KARZAI

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, meets with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 10, 2013. Hagel traveled to Afghanistan on his first trip as the 24th defense secretary to visit U.S. troops, NATO leaders and Afghan leaders. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Hagel Offers Observations After Meeting With Karzai
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 10, 2013 - After his first meeting with Afghanistan's president as head of the U.S. military today, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the encounter featured "clear, direct conversation

The secretary and President Hamid Karzai met for discussions and dinner at the presidential palace here. NATO International Security Assistance Force commander Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., U.S. Ambassador James B. Cunningham and other senior U.S. officials also attended.

In a speech earlier today, Karzai seemed to suggest the United States and the Taliban were conspiring to keep the level of violence in Afghanistan high to ensure the continued presence of U.S. troops here beyond 2014.

"We did discuss those comments," the secretary said, responding to a reporter's question about his meeting with Karzai. "I told the president it was not true that the United States was unilaterally working with the Taliban in trying to negotiate anything."

Any negotiation with the Taliban to build peace and political consensus in Afghanistan must come from the Afghan government, Hagel said. "Obviously, the United States will support efforts, if they are led by the Afghans, to come to some possible resolution, if that eventually evolves," he added.

Later in his comments, Hagel acknowledged that "when a nation would ... think of engaging an enemy they're still at war with, it's difficult." But he added that he always has believed it's wise for nations to engage with and reach out to each other.

"That doesn't mean you are prepared to negotiate; it may never get to that point," he said. "But I think it's far preferable to war."

Hagel's first visit to Afghanistan as secretary has been eventful. Yesterday, his first full day here, he attended a briefing within earshot of a deadly blast near the defense ministry that killed nine Afghan civilians and injured at least 14 others. Those in attendance reported they could hear the explosion clearly, though they didn't immediately know the source.

Today, a scheduled Karzai-Hagel news conference was called off, and Hagel's planned visits to the Defense and Interior ministers at their respective headquarters were shifted to an ISAF installation.

U.S. officials said security considerations led to moving the ministerial meetings to ISAF facilities and cancelling the news conference. A statement from the presidential palace said the media event was cancelled because of schedule pressures.

Hagel secretary appeared unfazed by those events. "When you spend 48 hours in Afghanistan or anywhere else that's too dangerous," he told reporters, "you recognize the complications that exist every day."

The solution to those complications may be imperfect, Hagel said, but "we should always be mindful of the higher purpose of what we're doing and why."

It's easy in a war zone to get focused on issues of the day, week or month, Hagel said. While the metrics of the moment are good guideposts, the secretary added, "we've got to keep in mind the larger context of where we've been, what we've accomplished and where we're going with the big issues."

The secretary offered three other observations about his trip, the first he has made to Afghanistan since 2008, when he was part of a congressional delegation along with then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama. His current trip has let him see, Hagel said, that "a lot of things have gone right" in the interim.

"A lot has happened in this country, and a lot of it's been very good," he added.

His second takeaway, he said, was that much of that success can be attributed to the efforts of U.S. troops and diplomatic staffs, supporting dedicated generals and ambassadors.

"The quality of our people doesn't really ever change," he said. "The American serviceman and woman [and] our diplomats, ... especially in the war zones, what they have to deal with every day and the sacrifices they make -- it's pretty remarkable."

Third, he said, the transition in Afghanistan is a critically important time. As U.S. and coalition forces redefine their roles and Afghan forces assume greater responsibility, he said, there will be new challenges and new issues to face beyond the battlefield.

"It's a different time, a different dynamic, a different environment," he said. "I don't think any of these are challenges that we can't work our way through."

From 2008 to now, the secretary said, he has seen dramatic changes in Afghanistan and a renewed commitment from both NATO and Afghan leaders. Hagel said that -- coupled with his great faith in U.S. military leaders and diplomats in Afghanistan -- tells him "we're on the right path, and I think we will meet these transition dates."

Hagel met separately this afternoon with Afghan Defense Minister Bismullah Khan Mohammadi and Interior Minister Ghulam Mujtaba Patang. This morning, the secretary also visited the Kabul Military Training Center, where he heard briefings on noncommissioned officer battle staff training, the Afghan sergeants major academy, and female NCO training.

PRESIDENT OBAMA SAYS WE ARE NEAR MISSION OBJECTIVE

FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Obama: Mission Objective in Afghanistan 'Within Reach'
By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2013 - The mission objective to prevent al-Qaida from using Afghanistan to launch attacks against the United States is within reach, President Barack Obama said in his weekly address to the nation today.

"This week, I welcomed [Afghanistan] President Hamid Karzai to the White House to discuss the way ahead in Afghanistan," Obama said in his address. "And today, I want to update you on how we will end this war, bring our troops home, and continue the work of rebuilding America."

The president thanked U.S. service members, noting the United States has "dealt devastating blows" to al-Qaida and ejected the Taliban from their strongholds in the past four years.

Obama said the 33,000 additional forces he ordered to Afghanistan served with honor, completed their mission, and returned home last fall as promised.

"This week, [President Karzai and I] agreed that this spring, Afghan forces will take the lead for security across the entire country and our troops will shift to a support role," Obama said. "In the coming months, I'll announce the next phase of our drawdown. By the end of next year, America's war in Afghanistan will be over."

Obama gave credit for the progress made in Afghanistan to the "heroic sacrifices of our troops and diplomats, alongside forces from many other nations."

More than a half-million Americans -- military and civilian -- have served in Afghanistan, the president said, noting thousands of have been wounded and more than 2,000 have given their lives.

And, the drawdown in Afghanistan remains a challenge, he said.

"This remains a very difficult mission," Obama said. "The work ahead will not be easy. Our forces are still in harm's way. But make no mistake -- our path is clear, and we are moving forward."

Now, the United States must "care for our troops and veterans who fought in our name," the president said.