18 October 2001

Haass Meets Annan, Brahimi about Afghanistan

State Department Director of Policy Planning Richard Haass met with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.N. Special Representative for Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi in New York October 18 for talks about Afghanistan.

"We discussed the full range of issues involving Afghanistan, including the humanitarian situation and what could be done to ease the situation there," Haass told reporters after the meeting.

Haass said the focus is to eliminate the al-Qaida terrorist network and make sure that Afghanistan never again harbors terrorism.

Haass said Brahimi visits Washington October 19 to continue consultations with U.S. officials on achieving that goal.

Following is the transcript of Haass' briefing in New York:

Remarks by Ambassador John D. Negroponte, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador Richard Haass, Director of Policy Planning, U.S. Department of State, at the Security Council Stake-Out, October 18, 2001

Ambassador Negroponte: I'd just like to introduce to you Ambassador Richard Haass, who has been named by Secretary of State Colin Powell to be his Coordinator for Afghanistan. He has been up here today for consultations with the Secretary-General and Ambassador Brahimi and others on the Secretary-General's team.

Ambassador Haass: As Ambassador Negroponte said, we just came out of our meeting with the Secretary-General and Ambassador Brahimi. We discussed the full range of issues involving Afghanistan, including the humanitarian situation and what could be done to ease the situation there. Tomorrow, Ambassador Brahimi will be coming to Washington D.C. for a full set of meetings and we look forward to continuing the dialogue then and generally, to continuing our conversations with the UN on this issue.

Reporter: Ambassador Haass, Secretary Powell says there is a need for a peacekeeping force in Afghanistan; Ambassador Brahimi says it is not a good idea right now to rush into a peacekeeping force. What's the difference? I mean there seems to be a little tension between the U.S. and the UN on that. Also, did you present any ideas on, sort of, a plan for the future of Afghanistan today in your meetings.

Ambassador Haass: We discussed all aspects of the situation. It is very much, obviously, a work-in-progress. It is too early for people to be presenting plans though we did discuss various aspects of the evolving situation that would have to be addressed. I don't see differences between the United States and the United Nations. This was and is a consultation in every sense of the word, where both sides are essentially sharing thoughts about a rapidly evolving situation and what the two can do to usefully make the situation there better, both now and down the road.

Reporter: Sir, could you elaborate a little bit on another aspect of what Mr. Brahimi said yesterday which was also that the United Nations was not really offering to rush in to take over any kind of transitional administration of Afghanistan. He made a distinction between that and nation-building. Could you elaborate a little bit on what you and President Bush see as nation-building?

Ambassador Haass: I'm not going to elaborate on anything Ambassador Brahimi said. He is clearly able to speak for himself and will continue to. President Bush addressed the subject the other night somewhat at his Press Conference. Our goals in Afghanistan are clear and they have been articulated by the President, by the Secretary of State and others many times. We're obviously most concerned about the al-Qaida network, about making sure that Afghanistan is never again a country that harbors terrorism or provides a sanctuary for terrorists. That is essentially our focus here.

Reporter: Sir, can you at this stage declare victory in the war in Afghanistan until you have a provisional government waiting in the wings? Can you allow Kabul to fall until you have a provisional government waiting in the wings?

Ambassador Haass: I'm not at this point going to get into questions about scenarios and how they may unfold. Thank you very much.