Ghani: Afghan, US Partnership Is 'Foundational'
by Carla Babb, Pamela Dockins March 23, 2015
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visited the Pentagon Monday to thank U.S. troops for their sacrifice and struggle in his country, honoring them "on behalf of a grateful nation."
Speaking in the center courtyard of the five-sided U.S. military headquarters, Ghani paid tribute to the 2,215 U.S. service members who died in Afghanistan since 2001 and the more than 850,000 who served there over the past 14 years.
He vowed the threat of terrorism would "never subdue" Afghans.
"We are going to overcome," Ghani told the Pentagon crowd of service members and their families. "Our partnership with the United States is foundational because we will be the first line of defense for freedom globally."
U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter stressed the importance of defeating terrorists in the southeast Asian nation to prevent future attacks against the United States.
"Because just beyond these walls stands a memorial honoring all those who perished when the Pentagon was attacked on that bright, fateful day in 2001," Carter told the crowd.
More than military gains
Ghani focused on more than just the fighting and military training of the U.S. forces, thanking the U.S. military members for building schools, dams and roads that have helped the nation make social and economic improvements.
A touching moment came when Ghani directly addressed some individual members of the crowd.
He told Reese Larson, the 9-year-old daughter of Lieutenant Lonn Larson who is currently serving in Afghanistan, to remember that her father is there to make a difference. He also brought her greetings for the 3 million Afghan girls who attend school in Afghanistan today.
"Fourteen years ago there were exactly none, so each one of them wants to entertain the hopes that you do, and your dad is making this possible," Ghani told her.
The Afghan president even thanked American taxpayers for the funding to support his country and vowed not to "be a burden."
'We do not now ask what the United States can do for us, Ghani said, echoing the words of President John F. Kennedy in his famous 1961 inaugural address. ' We want to say what Afghanistan can do for itself and for the world.'
Ghani then left the Pentagon for Camp David, where he and Secretary Carter joined U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah for talks on security and economic development.
Speaking to president, Congress
Ghani andAbdullah are meeting Tuesday with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, with Ghani addressing a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Afghan leaders head to New York for meetings with United Nations officials.
High on the agenda for the U.S.-Afghan talks is the pace of the withdrawal of the remaining 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan, now stationed there to advise and train Afghan troops after the last U.S. combat forces withdrew at the end of last year.
The Afghan leader is seeking to slow the pace of the U.S. troop drawdown, as Kabul's forces continue to face terrorist attacks on a daily basis.
Before leaving Kabul, Ghani said he realizes that the pace of the withdrawal is 'a very complicated domestic issue' in the U.S., where Obama has announced plans to cut the troop level to 5,500 by year's end and even less by the time he leaves office in early 2017.
The Afghan leader said, 'We will explain the condition, what we are doing, how we are bringing those efficiencies and then we need to let the internal process take over and arrive at decisions that serves our need, the global needs and the security of the United States.'
Drawdown discussions
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said last week that Obama is hearing from his national security team and commanders on the ground about the proper way to manage the pace of the drawdown and the proper way to sequence base closures.
'I think it is common sense that we would make these decisions about our troop presence relative to the security situation, and the United States is no longer responsible for the security situation in Afghanistan,' Earnest said. 'But the United States is interested in making sure that we have the troop presence that can protect forces that are on the ground.
'We want to make sure that we can continue to have some counterterrorism capability in Afghanistan, because there are still extremist elements operating in Afghanistan that do pose a threat to our interests,' he said.
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