Interview by Tom Buhrow of ARD German Public Television

MR. BUHROW: Sir, what are the elections in Afghanistan going to change, particularly does it make a stabilization of the country, advance it so much that a troop withdrawal at some point on the future is more likely?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I think clearly, but that some point in the future is not something we'll speculate about now. Look, to have a democratic expression of the people of Afghanistan and the election of a president can only, I think, be a factor for stability and be a pretty good omen, I think, as we lead to parliamentary elections in the spring.

MR. BUHROW: Do you think that the country will, at some point, be a stable, central democracy that works out the differences with the power struggle with the warlords?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I think already the problem of the warlords is somewhat on its way to resolution. Ismail Khan has been defanged, if you will, and much of his heavy equipment is in cantonment right now. General Dostum as well, Attah as well. So I think we're well on the way. The United Nations and the Japanese, who had the lead in the DDR activities, report that things have really picked up, the pace has really picked up of late. So I think there are good signs. They have to continue. And I think whoever wins this president election will be empowered by the people of Afghanistan to take further measures against warlords.

MR. BUHROW: Are the Taliban defeated permanently or is there a danger of them coming back in?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Until they have fully and totally been ground under the heel of the people of Afghanistan, there is always a danger. We have dedicated ourselves to the proposition that Afghanistan will never again suffer Talib rule. It's one of the reasons we and others are training police, training the ANA, the Afghan National Army, to be able to be strong enough and mobile enough, agile enough, to assure the people of Afghanistan that they won't suffer this fate again.

MR. BUHROW: And at some point, do you think a centralized government can take over that role?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, we're not going to stay in Afghanistan forever. You know, German forces are there. They do a wonderful job. Many other coalition forces are there. But no one has signed up to stay there forever. We've taken the lead in training the Afghan National Army. We've got about 12,000 of them trained now. We're going to accelerate that. We've got 30,000 policemen trained. We've got to continue on that path so that Afghan citizens can take charge of their own security. That's the ultimate goal for us.

MR. BUHROW: There was a proposal by -- I have to read her name because it's a French name -- Alliot-Marie, the French Secretary of Defense. She says with the opium production there booming, it's such a concern, especially for European countries where a lot of it ends up, but also for the United States, that she is proposing another force targeted for anti-narcotics besides the security forces that the coalition has there right now.

What do you think of that?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I think, first of all, that she's absolutely right to concentrate on the narcotic problem, and I can assure you we in the United States view narcotics products as fungible commodities, so if it goes anywhere in the world is hurts everyone on the world, including us in the United States.

We and our British colleagues, Britain has taken the lead in the counternarcotics mode and put a fair amount of money into it. We're doing the same thing. I think we all realize we have to step up our efforts, so I'd be more than delighted to talk to the French about this. And, of course, we want the government to be very much involved. We have to have governmental buy-in. It's not something that we'd do without them because they have to be part of the solution.

MR. BUHROW: Okay, an actuality question. The weapons of mass destruction's basically definite report is coming out today and it will basically state the same as has been stated before, that there were no real stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. In hindsight, does that give you pause to think about the Iraq (inaudible)?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, I think the report you refer to --

MR. BUHROW: Duelfer.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Charlie Duelfer's report, will say a lot more than that. It will say that Saddam Hussein had the capability and he certainly had the intention, and it will also talk to some extent about what Saddam Hussein's view of the possession of weapons of mass destruction did for him historically. So I think that there will be a little something in there for everybody, but it doesn't change our President's view. He knows one thing for sure: Saddam Hussein won't have weapons of mass destruction now or ever, he won't be able to threaten and kill his own people now or ever again, and he won't be able to be a threat to his neighbors now or ever again.

MR. BUHROW: Would you have like to have more troops on the ground?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: No, I sat in the discussions with the President. We, having been in the military, the military commanders took responsibility for their war plan, and we stood by their advice.

MR. BUHROW: Last question. The war on terror has many fronts. What about the other fronts where nuclear ambitions are very clear, specifically Iran? What are the next steps in the war on terror?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: Well, you know our views on this. We have worked rigorously, particularly with the EU-3, Minister Fischer, now Minister Barnier and Minister Straw, Foreign Secretary Straw. We've supported their efforts to try to the bring the Iranians to a more common sense position. We'll be looking for the November board meeting, and unless Iran is able to be transparent and clear and live up to her obligations, then we'll want to move to the Security Council.

MR. BUHROW: All right. Would you believe available for a position on cabinet level in the next administration, if asked?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ARMITAGE: I've never accepted or declined a job which hasn't been offered, so I think that's pretty good policy.

MR. BUHROW: Okay, I thought you'd answer that. Good.

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