31 October 2001
White House Says Taliban Biggest Obstacle to Getting Aid to Afghans
(Press Secretary Fleischer briefs on anti-terror campaign) (810)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File White House Correspondent
Washington -- The biggest obstacle to getting food and medicine to the
people of Afghanistan is the ruling Taliban regime there, White House
Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters October 31 at his daily
briefing.
The Taliban, he said, "is making the people of Afghanistan starve
through the actions that they have taken and through the hostile
regime that they have set up, which denigrates its own people, and has
been seizing food that is destined for the people of Afghanistan,
making people pay outrageous taxes to try to get food into the
country."
The United States is trying to circumvent the Taliban, Fleischer said,
by dropping food directly to the people of Afghanistan. As of October
30, he said, the Department of Defense surpassed the 1 million
humanitarian daily rations delivered to hungry people inside
Afghanistan.
Fleischer noted that Andrew Natsios, the Administrator of the U.S.
Agency for International Development, early October 31 briefed
President Bush on the humanitarian effort in Afghanistan and President
Bush announced an additional $11.2 million for the purchase of local
wheat and other food commodities in Central Asia. "That's above and
beyond the $320 million the President had previously announced,"
Fleischer said.
The United States "is going through a massive effort to make certain
that everything is done with an eye toward humanitarian needs. And
that's why at the beginning of this, when I talk about massive effort,
I'm referring specifically to the food deliveries. More than a million
drops of food, rations of food, to help people in Afghanistan."
Asked to comment on accidental deaths of civilians in Afghanistan as a
result of the military action there, Fleischer placed the blame on the
Taliban.
"War could have been avoided," he said, if only the Taliban had agreed
to President Bush's demands that they turn over Osama bin Laden, turn
over his top lieutenants, turn over the people who are responsible for
attacking the United States on September 11.
"And so, the decision to go to war was really made by the people who
attacked our nation. And our nation is acting in self-defense,"
Fleischer said.
Civilian casualties, he said, are "unfortunately, a reflection of war,
and this war was caused by the results of the people who attacked our
country," who turned civilian airliners, "something that's a symbol of
peace and transit, into a weapon."
"And we're acting in self-defense in the finest traditions that set
our nation apart from most other nations," he said.
The United States, Fleischer said, can take a lot of pride in the fact
that its military planners and the people who carry out the missions
"try as hard as possible, more than most, to avoid civilian
casualties."
Asked whether the United States will pause its military actions during
the Moslem holy month of Ramadan, Fleischer said the U.S. will take
whatever actions are necessary to defend itself against terrorism.
He pointed out that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld noted
recently that many wars have been fought between Moslem nations during
Ramadan, and that in Afghanistan itself the Taliban and the Northern
Alliance have fought during Ramadan.
Asked about comments made this week by Venezuela's President Hugo
Chavez urging that the bombing in Afghanistan stop, Fleischer said:
"Well, in response to these horrific attacks on the United States, the
United States exercises its powers under the United Nations Charter
and other treaties to act in self-defense. And President Chavez's
remarks are not in accord with Venezuela's own position in the United
Nations, in the Organization of American States, or in the Rio Treaty
consultations."
President Bush, Fleischer said, "has taken the action he has taken
with the support of most, if not all, of the world."
On the home front, Fleischer was asked to report President Bush's
attitude about the anthrax situation.
"The President, I think like every American, wants this to get solved
and solved right away. But he also understands that our nation has
enemies. And even though in this case we don't know if they're foreign
or they are domestic, there are people who are mailing anthrax through
the mail in an attempt to murder American citizens. And at that point,
it's a crime matter, it's an investigation. And the President
understands that investigations take time to finally catch the people
who are responsible," Fleischer said.
He added that the resources of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are
fully dedicated to preventing further terrorist attacks and to
stopping the spread of anthrax. "They're singly focused on those two
missions," he said.
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