Clinton: Karzai ‘Must Do Better’ for U.S. Backing
EmailAs President Obama mulls the possibility of sending more troops to Afghanistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggested on "This Week" that Afghan President Hamid Karzai "must do better" and there must be “tangible evidence” of stability if Afghan leaders want to keep U.S. support.
"We've delivered that message. Now that the [Afghan] election is finally over, we're looking to see tangible evidence that the government, led by the president but going all the way down to the local level, will be more responsive to the needs of the people," Clinton said.
Clinton suggested creating a major crimes tribunal and anti-corruption commission.
"We're going to be doing what we can to create an atmosphere in which the blood and treasure that the United States has committed to Afghanistan can be justified and can produce the kind of results that we're looking for," Clinton said on "This Week."
Clinton believes the administration can convince Americans that the war in Afghanistan can be won.
"I believe that's a case that can be made to the American people. I have no doubt about that," she said.
Though she acknowledged there will be many critics of the policy, she thinks the president will win most Americans over.
"I think the majority of Americans will know that this president has gone the extra mile, in fact more than that, to make sure whatever decision he makes is in the best interest of the of our country, that it is aimed at making the country more secure and supporting our men and women in uniform as they support the mission."
I asked Secretary Clinton about the dissent, first reported by the Washington Post, by U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, who expressed deep reservations about a further commitment of troops to Afghanistan because the Karzai government has not shown it is a credible partner.
Secretary Clinton wouldn’t comment on Eikenberry’s message to the president, but when I asked her about what concrete steps Karzai would have to take to prove that sending more troops is not a waste of American lives and money, she said, "We have laid out for President Karzai and his government, certain expectations. I’ve made it clear that we are not going to be providing any civilian aid to Afghanistan unless we have certification that if it goes into the Afghan government in any form, that we are going to have ministries that we can hold accountable."
See the entire exchange HERE:
- George Stephanopoulos
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I like this Prez steady hands….I was so tired of the “knee jerk, impulsive” decisions made by Bush and company for 8 years…that affected many, many lives in this country as well as Iraqis, and the Afgans
Posted by: sara | November 15, 2009, 8:55 am 8:55 am
sara – there’s a difference between “steady” and “absent of all movement.” Our reigning “can’t make a decision to save my own life, much less the country’s” MORON in the White House is the latter.
I’ll bet Pelosi even decides what color suit he’ll wear each day.
Posted by: Laughin__ALL_The_Way | November 15, 2009, 9:30 am 9:30 am
Hope they are ready because the good old USA is getting ready to pull the plug and run. Just look at all the signals the administration is giving. We are preparing to cut and run leaving the Taliban in charge.
Posted by: Bob | November 15, 2009, 9:37 am 9:37 am
Hillary would rather be president.
Posted by: LongT | November 15, 2009, 9:39 am 9:39 am
Yeah, steady to the point of being frozen in place……
Posted by: LongT | November 15, 2009, 9:41 am 9:41 am
Damn it’s nice to have an intelligent President. I am so sick of the haters and complainers. They don’t know what to do with a real President. If they would just open their minds, and quit being Fox sheep, this country might have a chance.
It is exceptionally hard for me to understand why the conservatives, who rant about American patriotism and freedom, are so willing to give themselves over to the control of an Australian billionaire, who has no loyalty to America. Rupert Murdoch now influences the beliefs and opinions of more Americans than any American does. That is both sad and dangerous.
Posted by: Rob | November 15, 2009, 10:03 am 10:03 am
Rob – You suggested we have an intelligent president… defend that assessment. What has he done? Can he even talk without a teleprompter and a carefully prepared and practiced speech? Can he even make a decision? Can he count to 11 without resorting to using his toes? Could he manage to find water if we pushed him out of a boat? Could he pour water out of a bucket if we put the instructions on the bottom? Does the thought of being trapped in a paper bag cause him high anxiety? When he walks, does he chant tro himself “left, right, left, right…”
I fail to see ANY intelligence, much less any leadership qualities, in this MORON. But then, I haven’t drank the same kool-aid you guys do… maybe that’s what I need to do… drink the kool-aid and then suspend disbelief is his ignorance.
Posted by: Laughin__ALL_The_Way | November 15, 2009, 10:25 am 10:25 am
Rob – Obama? Intelligent? You’re easily impressed, aren’t you?
Posted by: Laughin__ALL_The_Way | November 15, 2009, 10:30 am 10:30 am
I think the President is doing the right thing by taking his time and doing things right the first time…and Hillary is backing that effort so I think the Media should back off for immediate responces…I would rather it be the Correct response when our sons and brothers and husbands are on the line…
Posted by: Carol Stanton | November 15, 2009, 10:39 am 10:39 am
Laughin….you had your “maroon” the last eight years….He made decisions that were “knee jerk and impulsive” at best…BUT indeed he made decisions, right? To send thousands of our troops to a make-believe war without equipment, created 2 Viet Nam-like wars that was OPEN-ENDED, Didn’t Pay for any of the following: The Wars, The Advantage Medicare program, and turned a “surplus into a deficit…Now that’s decision making for YOU! Pres. Obama walked into that office with a BROKE Bank Account for the country, a will-run-riot financial system that was collaping the entire world….No Allies, and a Neglected War in Afganistan that HAD NO plan after 8 years….Now the economy is “Unfrozen”, our Allies are with us to solve neglected problems of the world the past 8 years, the Dow is hitting over 10,000, the housing market is slowly rebounding…..All after 10 months in office…..No, Pres. Obama wasn’t born with a SILVER SPOON in his Mouth, but that Doesn’t constitute being “Unintelligent”, now do it? Don’t like the person, fine….but your Unintelligent rationale doesn’t add up. What Is your agenda…beef? Oh, I know.
Posted by: sara | November 15, 2009, 10:48 am 10:48 am
Now, back to the Story……Karzi was paraded in front of the American people wit a “tough-looking” inept Pres. Bush, while his “top, terrorist security officer” Cheney stood there with a “mirk”….Knowing full well that Karzi was THE Drug-KINGPIN with his brother the head of Afgan Heroin Empire…that was funding our enemies all along….These are self-serving “thugs” that Bush/Cheney administration embraced that had NO interest in a Democracy for their people….they are the pediment of Cowardness as the one’s that Stood with them “mirking” and giving “lip-service by talking tough”.
Posted by: sara | November 15, 2009, 10:57 am 10:57 am
With a government like this…..why should my tax dollars go to Prop it up? Why should my neice fight for something that the Pres of Afgan is Not willing to fight for? At least I find comfort that my President is carefully weighing all situations with REGARDS to their lives and worthiness as Human Beings first!
Posted by: sara | November 15, 2009, 11:02 am 11:02 am
sara – You and yours obviously are going to declare YOUR moron as a “winner” since he’s less of a moron than the last moron.
To the INDEPENDENTS in the US, that argument is akin to saying that Central Illinois State has a much better football team than Southern Texas Evangelical College, meanwhile WE’RE all looking for a PRESIDENT to come from FLORIDA UNIVERSITY or TEXAS UNIVERSITY… We’re FED UP with the LOUSY choices your parties are coming up with… either LEAD, or get out of the WAY!!!!!
Posted by: Laughin__ALL_The_Way | November 15, 2009, 11:02 am 11:02 am
Hillary Clinton: you are urging the Iranian govern-
ment to clean up their act and get rid of corruption?!
Excuse me, when was the last time you looked at your
administration and called the different members on
cleaning up THEIR act? You can not be that blind !
It is not as if you could pull wool over their eyes; the
whole world has instant news, just like we do. Nobody
is just relying on papers anymore. Come on, do not
make us appear like bigger fools than we are.
Posted by: 2smart4u | November 15, 2009, 11:03 am 11:03 am
Thank God we elected Barak Obama who in turn appointed Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Hillary and Barack are the dynamic duo of the 21st century. I know Hillary’s words will be the background of Obama’s decisions on Afghanistan. Right now our troops are suffering from extreme fatigue. We keep sending the same young men and women into danger zones time and time again.
As Obama hinted earlier, we need to turn the responsibility of security over to the Afghans and phase ourselves out of the picture.
And, we need to provide resources to treat those veterans traumatized and wounded both physically and mentally by their experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq. If this means adding a sur-tax on the incomes of the super rich, so be it. After all, the super rich have made mega profits from our wars and they have sacrificed absolutely nothing,
Posted by: William Joseph Miller | November 15, 2009, 11:10 am 11:10 am
sara – Obama needs to MAKE A DAMNED DECISION!!! Either send in MORE troops to support McCrystal’s request, or PULL THEM OUT!!!
By NOT making a decision, OBAMA contributed to the killing of 76 of our soldiers in July, 77 more in August, 70 more in September, and 74 more last month. I guess he’s just too busy campaigning for others, giving us all speeches, and traveling to other countries…
YOUR MORON IS A LOSER!!!
Posted by: Laughin__ALL_The_Way | November 15, 2009, 11:14 am 11:14 am
2smart4u – Obama’s is an Administration based on the adage of “Do what we SAY, not what we do.”
Obama can only TALK THE TALK; he’s incapable of WALKING THE WALK.
Posted by: Laughin__ALL_The_Way | November 15, 2009, 11:16 am 11:16 am
Sara, darling, you are either very young or very,very
naive. Since when does it help to put a country back on its feet by increasing the deficit? If the”One” had been intelligent, he would have inquired about the state of the country and looked into the problems and then decide IF he was capable of fixing ( or at least improving) the conditions. But that is what power hunger does to you: big problems with no solutions in sight.
Posted by: 2smart4u | November 15, 2009, 11:20 am 11:20 am
William Joseph Miller – You said “Right now our troops are suffering from extreme fatigue.”
Actually, they’re DEMORALIZED as a result of a LACK OF SUPPORT from their COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
There’s a HUGE difference.
Posted by: Laughin__ALL_The_Way | November 15, 2009, 11:26 am 11:26 am
I am convinced that Clinton would have been a better President and BO is so hollow that he makes me ill. If someone doesn’t tell him what to say he would say nothing at all.
Who is BO think he is telling me that if I don’t take out his health insurance he will put not only me but my husband in jail. I thought I lived in a free country OH I forgot BO loves people that their countries are not free.
Posted by: Carol | November 15, 2009, 11:33 am 11:33 am
I don’t know whether anyone else has noticed but Mrs. Clinton as really aged since she has broken her bone and she really doesn’t look well plus what her husband has put her through and that is so sad and that is a fact.
MAY GOD BLESS HER AND HER ENTIRE FAMILY NOW AND FOR ALL TIME AS I AM SURE HE WILL!!!
Posted by: Carol | November 15, 2009, 11:41 am 11:41 am
Finally, an administration that is using common sense and brains to deal with this war, vs. all braun and no brains as we have seen by the previous administration. We cannot afford to be in this war at all, but if we are in it, we deserve to see results for what we are paying for it. This money could be better used on our own citizens and in fixing the healthcare mess.
Posted by: travelertraveler | November 15, 2009, 11:49 am 11:49 am
I want to echo Carol’s sentiment. Hillary is doing a great job, and the duo of Obama and Hillary is really great to see in action.
Posted by: travelertraveler | November 15, 2009, 11:53 am 11:53 am
From Hillary’s comments and Obama’s (lack of ) action, this adminstration seems to want to make sure Afghanistan is worthy of our sacrifice.. not one word, however, is being said about the necessity of more troops to support our troops currently over there.. Isn’t that one main reason for the troop increase? Every day our soldiers are dying and all we can chant about is the behavior of the Afghan government….like the actual soldiers are not really that important. Just my observation.
Posted by: Linda | November 15, 2009, 11:59 am 11:59 am
Thankfully, Karzai did not demand our government get rid of all our crooks. Of course, if he had, there would have been no one left in D.C. to deal with.
Posted by: jerry | November 15, 2009, 12:31 pm 12:31 pm
Hillary has proven to be a better Secretary of State than BO is as POTUS!She would have been a better POTUS too!!!
Posted by: lovingpolitics | November 15, 2009, 12:52 pm 12:52 pm
I am impressed that this President has sent Hilary to communicate Afghanistan requirements, measures of success in implementation and follow-up b4 commitment is made by US!! No tickee… no laundry!! And that is the way it must be.
Posted by: daboov | November 15, 2009, 1:05 pm 1:05 pm
Not fully appreciating all the nuances of the many problems that exist in Afghanistan, I would hope the administration does however. If they feel they want to establish a ‘partnership’ with Karzai, they should put him on the payroll.
If that is unacceptable to us, than we should try to influence the best we can overtly, and not covertly. It is when we have agenda’s that are not transparent than everything comes into question.
If we can be honest with everyone as what our objectives and goals for a new Afghanistan we should not be afraid to tell everyone what they are. If we want terrorists out, incarcerated or dead, we should state it. If we want the people to have the benefits of free societies everywhere, health, education and the pursuit of happiness; we should state it. If we want the drug trade to cease and no more be sent into America and parts beyond, we should state it.
If those things we desire do not create conflict in the area we are trying to change and to parts beyond, than we should establish concrete guidelines and boundaries as to how we want this relationship to grow, promote and foster future ambitions; and we should not be afraid to state it. I am a firm believer in transparency, obviously, and I would hope we can quit playing some of the ‘cat and mouse’ games that currently exist.
If we want something, and need somebody to make it happen, we should make them part and parcel of the enterprise called American Capitalism. It is rather simple, if they want and need something, provide it for them as long as it grows the community it is meant to help, not create wars or frictions in areas that will determine long term viability, or lack thereof, for many throughout the landscape of this earth.
Posted by: JR Jake | November 15, 2009, 1:21 pm 1:21 pm
Obama Has already Sent 23,000 extra troops to Afghanistan-
He now is Reevaluating why The Bush/Cheney strategy has failed miserably.
In 8 long years Bush and Cheney have won nothing in Afghanistan- WW11 took less than half that time— I wonder why the GOP armchair warrior (draft dodging) War for Corporate Profit empty suits let the situation get so out of control. They allowed the Taliban to regroup and for Bin Ladin and Mullah Omar to escape– Both Colin Powell and Secretary Gates agree with the President’s deliberation– More troops means more casualties — and to what end? Fighting an entrenched guerrilla force that has neither a standing visible army , nor country is like fighting bees with a machine gun– A new approach is necessary – After all, Russia and countless other empire’s throughout the centuries have failed to
Bring order to the Afghan tribes –
Posted by: brian | November 15, 2009, 1:39 pm 1:39 pm
In my opinion, Hillary Clinton looks not well because
she is probably “forced’ to say certain things, although deep down she might even disagree wholeheartedly.
What a price to pay for wanting to be working for
this administration. And what kind of vicious payback
this was to give her a no-clout job! She should have
declined and said: Hasta la vista, baby. She did not
need the money.
The end.
Posted by: 2smart4u | November 15, 2009, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
I’m personally embarrassed to have Obama as my president. What a coward and turncoat he is. He’s leaving our nation at great risk and is a complete failure as a commander in chief.
Posted by: Jon | November 15, 2009, 2:45 pm 2:45 pm
OK, Secretary Clinton, since Karzai will not change on his own, how do we make him do better?
Posted by: Beto | November 15, 2009, 4:49 pm 4:49 pm
Me: Obama must do better for U.S
Posted by: bobp | November 15, 2009, 5:15 pm 5:15 pm
Sara says she likes Obama’s “steady hands”. Funniest thing I’ve heard in quite a while. Obama usually voted “present” as Senator and has never done one thing in his entire life so its no wonder he doesn’t know what to do now that he is in the big chair now. Obama – just send the Generals their troops.
Posted by: Jon Samuel | November 15, 2009, 10:54 pm 10:54 pm
GET OUT OF AFGHANISTAN AND GET OUT OF IRAQ! TEND TO BUSINESS AT HOME AND STOP WASTING OUR TAXES ON PEOPLE THAT DON’T WANT US IN THEIR COUNTRY!
Posted by: Ben Dover | November 15, 2009, 11:29 pm 11:29 pm
But what about the comment regarding “we don’t plan on being in Afghanistan for the long term, we don’t plan to nation build” doesn’t that just mean that we are using the Afghan people? Yeah, sure, sorry about all the death and destruction, but once we get what WE want, you’re on your own. Sorry folks, but that is what created ALL of this mess in the first place. And, by the way, the current strategy (the cities versus the country side, is EXACTLY the mistake that the Soviets made.) you can’t RULE Afghanistan, but you can help them…
Posted by: James | November 16, 2009, 11:13 am 11:13 am
Perhaps Hillary should look around her, in Washington, if she wants to get rid of some corruption. For that matter she could just use a mirror.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | November 16, 2009, 12:56 pm 12:56 pm
Who is she to pass judgement? If she, Willie and Monica would have done their jobs there wouldn’t be the mess we have at the present.
Posted by: Bob | November 16, 2009, 2:08 pm 2:08 pm
Public Option Health Insurance should be tied to P.I.P Auto insurance for those whom decide to use a public option. These monies from P.I.P. will help offset the administrative costs as only one inclusive (No longer redundant) policy will reduce overall administration costs. Hope this helps! Good Luck and God Bless!
Posted by: James Gross | November 16, 2009, 8:28 pm 8:28 pm
USA’s dollars in Afghanistans should have as first priority to fund the training and arming of an Afghan FEMALE Police force.
Afghanistan’s women and children are the main victims of fundamentalists, war lords, corrupt government officials and police forces. If the USA would train a force of 10000 or more Afghan women law officers, and provide emergency-line phone communication to as many women as possible we would see a major improvement in the security of that country.
Just my 2c.
Posted by: aresnnaut | November 17, 2009, 12:48 pm 12:48 pm
read on Goarticles “Time to leave
Iraq and Afghanistan”
Posted by: michael zilbering | November 17, 2009, 3:41 pm 3:41 pm
I would appreciate a specific address where I may send correspondence to Mr. Stephanopolous
Posted by: Stan Parker | November 17, 2009, 9:22 pm 9:22 pm
This country being on top of the most corrupt countries and the new president is being said he is doing nothing about it, why is hillary there telling him he has to do better. what is she going to do if he don,t?
Posted by: Holly | November 18, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am
THis is to Laughing all the way, You keep talking about a teleprompter. Please. Your idiot Bush could not talk an intelligent sentence with one or without one Period. My husband is in the military (active duty) and I would rather have Pres Obama be his Commander in Chief than Bush!!! Pres Obama is deciding what course to take and making sure we get it right instead of just putting in troops and saying ” Go get em” without a plan like the last admin did. I don’t trust Karzai. All he wants is our money and have us do everything for him and we are not going to do that, and we should not as well. The Afghans need to start doing things for themselves.
Posted by: MilWife | November 18, 2009, 4:59 pm 4:59 pm
The Karzai government has always been weak in that it only controls about 30% percent of the country. The rural areas of Afghanistan is controled by tribal and local warlords. Surging thousands of fresh troops into the lawless rural areas is a recipe for chasing after unattainable ends with insufficient means. In KASHK-E-NOKHOWD,Afghanistan an Iman man named Sahed was asked about the presence of U.S. troops in his village, Sahed said they “need to go. Get out of Afghanistan or it will never be resolved. Between Islam and the infidel there can never be Afghanistan relationship.” The United States is doing a great deal in Afghanistan,and is considering doing more, because it sees the effort as essential to protecting Pakistan. But this logic is somewhat odd. Certainly, allowing the Taliban and al-Qaeda to re-establish a sanctuary in Afghanistan would make it harder to defeat them in Pakistan. But the Taliban and al-Qaeda already have a sanctuary in Pakistan itself. I don’t see anything to win in Afghanistan. There is believed to be about 20,000 Taliban and about 90,000 Afghan soldiers along with 100-300 Al Qeada in Afghanistan. The Afghan troops are more than enough to combat the insurgents. The notion that Afghanistan is central to United States national security is at best a dubious proposition given the ability of Al Qaeda terrorist cells to mutate in a variety of other locationsand countries. Our fight is in the tribal areas of Pakistan. When the Pakistan government stops its alleged offensive in the lawless tribal areas for winter, NATO forces should commence bombing the tribal areas until spring and then put forces on the ground to mop up. It is most likely the bad guys will come out of the mountains to stay warm for the winter and a good time to hit them.
Posted by: Dallasman | November 18, 2009, 10:38 pm 10:38 pm
It appears the only decission Obama can make with conviction is that a child that was born alive from a botched abortion doesn’t have the right to live and must be left alone to die.
It appears Obama feels that way about our troops in Afghanistan.
Posted by: John Demeter | November 19, 2009, 3:36 am 3:36 am
We might as well pull out right now. They are even more corrupt than our own government………why waste lifes, resources, money, and time waiting for something to get better…….It just gets worse each day.
Posted by: Gayle | November 19, 2009, 11:39 am 11:39 am
Sara, You keep on thinking they way that you are . You are neither to young nor to naive. Most of these people here are afraid that the President will make to right decision, because if he does they won’t be able to say I told you so . They don’t care about the troops like they say they do. It doesn’t matter what decision the President make, they will have something negatve to say about it !!
Posted by: Carol | November 19, 2009, 12:30 pm 12:30 pm
Linda wrote: “not one word, however, is being said about the necessity of more troops to support our troops currently over there.. Isn’t that one main reason for the troop increase?”
Linda, isn’t that the same logic used by the gambler who decides he has to gamble the mortgage money because he’s already lost the food money?
And are you old enough to remember Vietnam? The same argument was used until we had 500,000 guys there and 58,000 killed. We were told that pulling out would lead to the “Domino Effect” and all of Southeast Asia would soon be Communist. The GOP Pres. Gerald Ford had the guts to say “enough”. Today, I’d rather have someone think thingas through than say “bring it on”, while causing more economic damage to the USA than al Qaeda could ever have hoped.
Besides, Obama has already increased the troops by tens of thousands over what Bush has had there, spurred Pakistan to action.
I was complaining on these pages when Bush was drawing down troop strength in Afghanistan because he would institute the draft because most Americans have no problem with our troops being there as long as its not THEIR kids.
At one point, the Bush allowed the Taliban to rule, levy taxes, and raise recruits from the Musa Qala District for TEN MONTHS, but you’d have to go to BBS to find out about that – ABC, etc. refused to report it.
Posted by: The_Mick | November 20, 2009, 9:48 am 9:48 am