Clinton Downplays Karzai Comments

By Lisa Kellman

During an appearance Thursday before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attempted to downplay Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s claim that his country would side with Pakistan if the neighboring nation was threatened by the U.S.

Amidst uproar from many congress members, Clinton assured that America and Afghanistan were on good terms.

President Karzai and I had a very productive meeting when I was in Kabul last week” said Clinton, “We are making progress on a lot of issues and we are coordinating closely on both fighting the insurgents and trying to test out this Afghan-lead reconciliation.”

After Clinton heard Karzai’s comment, she sent Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Afghanistan, to uncover the truth behind the statement.  Karzai, he reported, was talking about the long history of cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“It was not at all about a war that anyone was predicting and it was both taken out of context and misunderstood,” said Clinton.

Clinton informed the committee that during her recent visit to the middle east, she explained to Pakistan and Afghanistan the need to fight terrorists like the Haqqani Network and build capacity and opportunity  for lasting stability and security.

Committee members, however, continued to voice concerns over America’s future relations with those in the region.

“Its hard to be optimistic” conceded Committee Chairman Ros-Lehtinen.  “All the options on the table appear deeply unappetizing. All run the risk of being ineffectual, counterproductive, or both.”

“It was not at all about a war that anyone was predicting and it was both taken out of context and misunderstood,” said Clinton.

Clinton informed the committee that during her recent visit to the middle east, she explained to Pakistan and Afghanistan the need to fight terrorists like the Haqqani Network and build capacity and opportunity  for lasting stability and security.

Committee members, however, raised concerns over America’s future relations with those in the region.

“Its hard to be optimistic” conceded Committee Chairman Ros-Lehtinen on the future of Americas relations with the middle east.  “All the options on the table appear deeply unappetizing.  All run the risk of being ineffectual, counterproductive, or both.”