02 November 2009

Obama Congratulates Afghan President and Urges Internal Reforms

Secretary Clinton expressed hope that presidential runner up Abdullah Abdullah will remain engaged in Afghan political affairs.

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — President Obama has congratulated Afghan President Hamid Karzai on winning re-election but also called for a “new chapter” to improve Afghan governance and end corruption. Obama also cited a need to increase the ability of Afghan forces to provide security for their own country.

Speaking to reporters with Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt at the White House November 2, Obama said that although the Afghan election process had been “messy,” the final outcome had been “determined in accordance with Afghan law.”

Afghanistan held presidential and provincial elections August 20. For several weeks after the vote, Afghan election officials investigated claims of fraud and irregularities and ultimately threw out millions of votes. Because Karzai did not win an outright majority in the final tally, a presidential runoff vote against Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, his closest challenger, was planned for November 7. That runoff was cancelled by an Afghan-led commission on November 2, following Abdullah’s November 1 decision to withdraw from the contest. (See “United States Anticipates Smoother Runoff Vote in Afghanistan.”)

The final result is “very important not only for the international community that has so much invested in Afghan success, but, most importantly, [it] is important for the Afghan people that the results were in accordance with and followed the rules as laid down by the Afghan Constitution,” Obama said.

Obama said he emphasized to Karzai that while the United States and the international community want to continue to work with Afghan leaders to help the country prosper and improve security, “this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter based on improved governance, a much more serious effort to eradicate corruption, [and] joint efforts to accelerate the training of Afghan security forces, so that the Afghan people can provide for their own security.”

Obama cited President Karzai’s stated willingness to “move boldly and forcefully forward” to initiate internal reforms and take advantage of the international community’s interest.

“The proof is not going to be in words; it’s going to be in deeds,” the president said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said November 2 that Karzai is “the legitimate leader of the country,” and despite the country having undergone a difficult electoral process, Afghanistan’s laws and institutions had prevailed.

“Obviously, that’s the beginning of a process whereby the rule of law carries the day,” he said.

In a November 1 statement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton acknowledged Abdullah’s decision to pull out of the contest and said he had run “a dignified and constructive campaign” that earned him support from Afghans all around the country.

“We hope that he will continue to stay engaged in the national dialogue, and work on behalf of the security and prosperity of the people of Afghanistan,” Clinton said.

The secretary also pledged U.S. support for Karzai and the Afghan people “who seek and deserve a better future.”

U.S. STRATEGY EXPECTED SOON

The Obama administration has been evaluating the situation in Afghanistan in preparation for announcing a new U.S. strategy. (See “Obama Facing Critical Decisions in Afghanistan, Pakistan.”)

Press secretary Gibbs said that with Karzai’s election to a second five-year term, the administration’s discussions can now “take place with who we know is going to lead the country.”

The president and his advisers are working on “how best to formulate a strategy that supports the goal of disrupting, dismantling and ultimately destroying al-Qaida,” Gibbs said, and expected that the decision will be made “in the coming weeks.”

“We want to ensure that a safe haven can’t be created [in Afghanistan] in which [al-Qaida] could come back and establish a stronghold, with which to plan and attack us,” he said.

Obama’s decision “was not dependent upon when a leader was determined” by the country, but Gibbs added that everyone in the U.S. national security team recognizes that no “strategy could be successful without successful governance of Afghanistan.”

A transcript of remarks by Obama and Reinfeldt and the full text of Clinton’s statement are available on America.gov.