10 October 2001
Transcript: Powell Says U.S. Goal is Representative Afghan Government
(Secretary of State interviewed on NBC October 10) (1400)
Secretary of State Colin Powell said the long-term U.S. wish for
Afghanistan is establishment of a representative government that takes
care of the needs of its people.
In a broadcast interview on NBC October 10, Powell said the United
Nations "might well have to play a very, very important role in a
post-Taliban world."
Following is the transcript of the interview:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
October 10, 2001
INTERVIEW
Secretary Of State Colin L. Powell
On NBC's Today Show with Matt Lauer
October 10, 2001
QUESTION: Secretary Powell, good morning to you.
SECRETARY POWELL: Good morning, Matt.
QUESTION: Do you mind if I start by reading you a portion of a
statement that was made by a spokesperson for Usama bin Laden's
al-Qaida network? Here is what was said: "America must know that the
battle will not leave its land until America leaves our land, until it
stops supporting Israel, until it stops the blockade of Iraq. The
American must know that the storm of airplane will not stop and there
are yet thousands of young people who look forward to death, like the
Americans look forward to living."
Those are chilling words. What's your response to them?
SECRETARY POWELL: Chilling words from a terrorist. The kind of words
you expect to hear from an evil person who has no good intention in
mind. We are in the Persian Gulf area, we are in Arab lands at the
invitation of Arab nations, and our presence there is dictated by the
fact that Iraq invaded one of its Arab neighbors. So we are not there
as invaders, the way the Taliban has allowed al-Qaida to invade
Afghanistan.
So it is a chilling challenge but, I assure you, we will meet that
challenge. We will pursue this campaign until that spokesman will no
longer have any reason to make such boasts.
QUESTION: As you know, those words are being broadcast to millions of
Muslims around the world. They are stirring some very strong emotions
in certain parts of the world. Are you concerned that those emotions
will boil over and get out of control?
SECRETARY POWELL: I am not concerned yet, because the overwhelming
response to the campaign that we launched after the events of 11
September, the overwhelming response has been positive. All of the
international organizations have come together, all nations in the
world who have a concern about terrorist activity have come together
and joined this campaign against terrorism.
There have been some demonstrations in various countries, Indonesia
and Pakistan. But from what I can tell, those demonstrations don't
represent the views of the entire population and I think, as we go
forward, as we explain the purposes of our campaign, and as we point
out the evil nature of these terrorist actions, I expect that we will
be able to manage that.
The leaders themselves are solidly in support of the campaign that we
are pursuing under President Bush's leadership.
QUESTION: Let me talk about one of those leaders. You are going to
Pakistan later in the week. General Musharraf there recently demoted
several key military associates. These are extremists, but they are
also people who helped him gain power back in 1999 in his coup. How
secure, how stable is his regime, and can he remain in power?
SECRETARY POWELL: I think President Musharraf is very secure and
stable. The actions he took with respect to his generals, I will leave
up to him to make explanations for that. But I think he took some very
bold and courageous steps over the last month to put Pakistan firmly
on the side of those nations who were against terrorism. And I
congratulate and compliment him for those actions, and I am looking
forward to seeing him next week.
I am also looking forward to visiting India which has -- India has
also come forward in the campaign against terrorism and we appreciate
the kind of support and effort that they are making as well, so I look
forward to visiting two of those very, very important countries.
QUESTION: What will you see -- very important, because as I don't have
to tell you, these countries have nuclear weapons. If they become
destabilized, the whole region and the world should be very concerned
about that. What will you say specifically to the leaders of India and
Pakistan?
SECRETARY POWELL: First, I will thank them for their support of this
campaign and their participation in it. Then I will hopefully have an
opportunity to speak to both leaders about the continued need for
restraint, for them to begin dialogue, a dialogue that really has been
ongoing. And, as you noticed, the two leaders spoke to each other in
the past 24 hours. And I will remind them of their responsibilities as
states that do possess nuclear weapons to show the level of caution
and restraint with respect to their activities befitting nations that
have that kind of power available to them.
But I think both nations at this moment are obviously stable and are
obviously anxious to do their part in this campaign against terrorism.
QUESTION: Let me ask you quickly about Israel. Ariel Sharon, the Prime
Minister, said recently he wants the United States to make sure they
aren't selling out Israel in their courtship of Arab nations for this
coalition. Does he have a point, Mr. Secretary? Do we now owe certain
debts to Arab nations for cooperating with us?
SECRETARY POWELL: Israel is a strong friend of the United States. We
will always support Israel, its security. And it is the democratic
nation in that region that we absolutely treasure as a friend. So
there should be no concern on the part of any Israeli citizen or
leader that the United States would ever do anything to "sell them
out" or to trade away their security.
QUESTION: What happens when the bombing stops in Afghanistan,
Secretary Powell? There is going to be a vacuum created if the Taliban
loses power. Who or what do you want to see fill that vacuum?
SECRETARY POWELL: We want to see eventually arise in Afghanistan a
government that represents all the people of Afghanistan, that is
prepared to take care of the needs of its people, not to repress its
people. And so we are in touch with all of the different factions to
start to see how such a government could arise if the Taliban were to
collapse and go out of power.
QUESTION: Are you relying on the former King, the 83-year old King?
SECRETARY POWELL: We're also -- if I may finish? We are also working
closely with the United Nations. The United Nations might well have to
play a very, very important role in a post-Taliban world.
With respect to the King, we are in touch with the King. Our diplomats
in Rome have met with him and a member my staff, a senior member of my
staff, Ambassador Haas, met with him last week. So we are keeping in
touch with all the parties to make sure we have them all moving in the
right direction and beginning to cooperate with each other more than
they have in the past.
QUESTION: The Northern Alliance or United Front, depending on the name
you go by, they hate Pakistan. Pakistan hates them. Is it possible
after the Taliban, we could see less stability in that region, as
opposed to more?
SECRETARY POWELL: I think we would see more stability, and that would
be our goal as we work with Pakistan, the other nations that are
neighbors to Afghanistan, to make sure that we don't leave the kind of
instability that unfortunately has been left there in the past, which
gave rise to the Taliban.
I think it is important for all of us to recognize that, in a
post-Taliban Afghanistan, we will have important work to do,
humanitarian work, economic development, helping the people of
Afghanistan, and putting in place some level of stability that has so
far eluded Afghanistan in recent years.
QUESTION: Secretary of State Colin Powell. Good luck with your trip,
sir.
SECRETARY POWELL: Thank you very much, Matt.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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