Afghanistan Safer Thanks to US Assistance
Janet O
KXLY TV SPOKANE
03.02.2007
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Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States Said Jawad visited Spokane this week to talk about how far his country has come and how the world is a safer place since the US-led coalition drove the Taliban out of power.
Ambassador Jawad made stops at Fairchild Air Force Base where he thanked the airmen for their service and then spoke at Gonzaga Law School on Thursday. In remarks he made at the law school, Ambassador Jawad said his country has come so far, yet still has a long way to go.
"Afghans today enjoy more political and social economic right than anytime in the history of Afghanistan," he said.
Ambassador Jawad was appointed to his position by Afghan President Hamid Karzai in late 2003. A native of Afghanistan and educated at the School of Law and Political Sciences in Kabul, he fled his homeland for Germany following the Soviet invasion in 1980, returning after US and Afghan forces liberated his country in 2002.
He says while his country has made major strides toward democracy, reconstruction is far from over.
"There are shortages of assets of both military and otherwise," he said. "There's no doubt some assets have been shifted to Iraq."
The country's biggest challenge right now is national security – particularly with the resurgence of the Taliban and an expected spring offensive by their forces, and controlling the massive production of opium. In both cases Afghanistan needs a larger army and police force.
"Our target for national army is 70,000, so far we've trained 33,000," Ambassador Jawad said.
President Bush recently announced the US will give $11.8 Billion to Afghanistan over the next two years and the majority of the money will go to fund the army and police forces.
"If you pay something like $40 to $50 to a police officer and expect them to fight al-Qaeda and take them seriously, very difficult to find qualified people," he said.
President Bush's announcement comes at a crucial time as the anticipated offensive by Taliban forces could come in a matter of weeks..
"I think terrorists would like to work to divide people, I think the struggle will be a long struggle we will have to be patient and persistent," Ambassador Jawad said.
The ambassador believes in the war in Iraq just as he supported the US-led efforts to drive the Taliban out of his country after 911.
“Had we not taken the measure we have taken today for instance in Afghanistan, the world would have been a much more dangerous place to live.”
