Wolfowitz visits troops in Afghanistan
by Sgt. Reeba Critser
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (Army News Service, July 16, 2002) - Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz's talked with Coalition forces and Afghan leaders July 15.
Wolfowitz's one-day visit to Afghanistan began with a meeting with Combined Joint Task Force-180 Commander Lt. Gen. Dan McNeill at Bagram Air Base, followed by a visit with soldiers in a "town hall" meeting outside of the base's Joint Operations Center.
"This is an amazing operation," he said. "Even more than most of you realize.
"Those 3,000 killed on Sept. 11 is a small fraction of what might be killed if terrorist acts continued," he said. "We can't win the operation by taking one leader out of the whole network. This is a worldwide operation with success in each field."
While fielding questions from the audience, he addressed the situation in Iraq.
"As a country, we have a serious problem," Wolfowitz said. "We can't support terrorists who have chemical weapons."
He said it was too dangerous to wait 10 years for Iraq to strike, but no final decisions have been made on an American strike.
"Sept. 11 is nothing compared to what would happen if a chemical attack occurred," he said.
After the meeting, he went to Kabul, but not before presenting 20 Coalition soldiers with coins and CJTF-180 Command Sgt. Maj. Steven R. England with a plaque for their work in this deployment.
In Kabul, Wolfowitz toured of the Afghan National Army Training Center, and visited the International Security Assessment Force compound.
Lunch was served at President Hamid Karzai's palace, followed by a press conference with Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, foreign minister of Afghanistan.
"Afghanistan has chosen his destiny," Abdullah said. "The representatives were elected and the Afghan National Army was created."
He said that his country was moving forward in the right direction, without fear from the al Qaeda. Wolfowitz confirmed that belief.
"Terrorism is not like a snake, where you can chop its head off and it will die," Wolfowitz said. "It's like a virus, it takes time to cure.
"(The Coalition forces) are here as an army of liberation, not an army of occupation. We made mistakes in killing our own and of the Coalition. Judgment can be made (against the United States). We are doing the best we can."
The next stop on the deputy secreatary's tour was Mazar Hotel in Mazar-e-Sharif, where he met with Afghan Gen. Dotsum, Minister of Planning Mohaqarq and Gov. Raguyak.
Wolfowitz ended his tour with a visit to the Jordan Army's hospital. Col. Atef T. al Smade, commander of the hospital, boasted of the work his staff accomplished - more than 86,000 patients treated and more than 1,100 surgeries performed.
After the tour, Wolfowitz said he was happy to see American and Coalition forces working together.
"(Secretary of Defense Donald) Rumsfeld said it's going to be a long haul before terrorism stops," he said. "We'll keep building a better world, beyond the world of terrorism."
(
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
