President Karzai Meets with U.S. President George Bush at United Nations
On September 26, President Hamid Karzai met with U.S. President George Bush at the 62nd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations to discuss routine security matters and review the progress being made in Afghanistan’s rebuilding effort.
At a joint press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, President Karzai thanked President Bush and the American people for the progress that has been made in the last 6 years, notably a major reduction in child mortality, and building of roads and schools. "Afghanistan has indeed made progress," he said.
President Bush said that Afghanistan is becoming a safer, more stable country, thanks to the efforts of President Karzai. "Mr. President, you have strong friends here…I appreciate your full understanding that a government that responds to its people is a government that is -- provides hope and opportunity.”
President Bush explained that it is the national security interests of the U.S. that democracy flourishes in Afghanistan, because, “when people see that there's hope in a part of the world that had been ravaged by war and had been terrorized by brutal extremists, when people realize that there's a different way of life, they'll demand the same things.”
President Bush spoke about Afghanistan in his U.N. General Assembly address, describing the country as fighting against the forces of terror and extremism. "Every civilized nation has a responsibility to stand with them," he said.
