Delegates At Afghan Conference Praise New U.S. Strategy

Delegates At Afghan Conference Praise New U.S. Strategy

March 31, 2009

THE HAGUE (RFE/RL) -- President Hamid Karzai, attending a UN-backed conference on the future of Afghanistan, has said he believes the new strategy recently outlined by U.S. President Barack Obama is the right approach for the international community to take.

"We are all encouraged by the renewed determination of the United States under President Barack Obama and hope that the United States will once again lead the effort to respond to the challenges we continue to face," Karzai told international backers gathered in The Hague. "I'm also confident that President Obama's leadership will be met by a regional ability to respond from our other allies in Europe and elsewhere."

Karzai's praise for the new U.S. tack was repeated by many of the foreign ministers and other officials from 90 countries and organizations who were in attendance. The Hague meeting was intended to review broad strategies on Afghanistan and the region in the hope of bringing new impetus to the international effort against Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants.

Participants were also trying to reduce corruption and help boost sound governance by Afghan officials so that reconstruction efforts could move forward.

Delegates included senior officials from Russia, China, Pakistan, Iran, and the United States along with representatives from NATO, the OECD, the European Union, the Asian Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also is attending.

Delegates also have been stressing the importance of a broad regional approach on Afghanistan that includes cooperation from Pakistan and from Iran, which sent a deputy foreign minister to the conference.

Fresh Strategy

The conference followed Obama's announcement on March 27 of a new strategy that views the conflict in Afghanistan and Pakistan as intricately linked.

That new strategy calls for extra troops for Afghanistan, increased aid for both Afghanistan and Pakistan, and a renewed focus on targeting Al-Qaeda militants along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Obama also has stressed the need for a surge in civilian efforts in Afghanistan, saying that military efforts alone cannot resolve the region's deep problems.

Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta said he is confident that the conference would help all involved to identify the best way to build upon their achievements and strengthen and enduring partnership. But he warned of challenges still ahead.

"We are facing two choices in Afghanistan," Spanta told the delegates. "If we succeed in our joint journey, Afghanistan will become a crossroad of regional cooperation and interaction between South Asia and Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Far East. If we don't, it will become once again the launching pad for international terrorism and the drug mafia."

'Growing Consensus'

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi told the conference that Obama's approach to the Muslim world had been well received in Pakistan and was the right way to move forward against militant extremism.

"There is now a growing consensus among policy planners of the futility of an overemphasis on the use of force. The international community has taken a pause for introspection and a candid reassessment of the situation," Qureshi said.

He continued: "The new administration in the United States has taken the lead in this course correction. President Obama has captured the imagination of peoples around the globe as a symbol of hope and change. His proposed way forward with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual respect and interest has been greatly appreciated in Pakistan. This is an auspicious beginning for us all."

For his part, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner praised the dual aspect of Obama's new Afghanistan strategy.

"[What is needed is] a much stronger engagement -- as President Obama said, which satisfied us very much -- with the civilian populations. And of course an engagement for security," Koucher said. "These two things are important. I think the key date will be the election."

Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkanende told the gathering that he welcomed a strategy that combines the power of defense, development, and diplomacy.

"I believe that your presence here sends a powerful message of hope and confidence to the Afghan people," Balkanende said. "This conference proves that the international community remains strongly committed to a safe, stable and prosperous future for Afghanistan. Despite all the success and the progress of recent years, many challenges remain. But the determination and optimism of the Afghan people give us hope. The combined power of defense, development and diplomacy shall prevail."

'Legitimate And Respected'

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked the delegates to match Obama's new strategy with a fresh commitment -- and the will to persevere.

Clinton also said that in order to earn the trust of the Afghan people, the Afghan government must be "legitimate and respected."

She said this requires a successful presidential election in August -- a ballot that is free and fair -- and she said such an election can only happen with strong support from the international community.

Clinton has announced that the United States will donate $40 million to help conduct Afghanistan's presidential elections in August.

The European Commission also has said it is ready to commit an additional $79 million in aid to support the elections -- as well as the police and the farm sector in Afghanistan.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhundzadeh agreed with Obama's conclusion that a military solution alone cannot resolve the conflict in Afghanistan. But he criticized Obama's plans to send additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan for combat and security missions.

"Since the inception of the current government in Afghanistan, Iran has always believed that Afghanistan's foundation is based on localization of the affairs of that country," Akhundzadeh said. "The presence of foreign forces has not improved things in the country, and it seems that an increase in the number of foreign forces will prove ineffective, too. The military expenses need to be redirected to the training of the Afghan police and army, and Afghanization should lead the government's building process."

NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told the conference that NATO already is involved in directing money and equipment to the Afghan National Army. He asked delegates at the conference to contribute more to that project.

Unlike previous international conferences on Afghanistan, however, the gathering in The Hague is not aimed at getting donors to pledge funds for reconstruction and stabilization efforts in Afghanistan.

With RFE/RL's Golnaz Esfandiari and Abubakar Siddique in The Hague and Ron Synovitz in Prague

Source: http://www.rferl.org/content/Delegates_At_Afghan_Conference_Praise_New_US_Strategy/1565188.html

NEWSLETTER

Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list

Military

Delegates At Afghan Conference Praise New U.S. Strategy