31 October 2001

White House Says Taliban Biggest Obstacle to Getting Aid to Afghans

Washington -- The biggest obstacle to getting food and medicine to the people of Afghanistan is the ruling Taliban regime there, White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told reporters October 31 at his daily briefing.

The Taliban, he said, "is making the people of Afghanistan starve through the actions that they have taken and through the hostile regime that they have set up, which denigrates its own people, and has been seizing food that is destined for the people of Afghanistan, making people pay outrageous taxes to try to get food into the country."

The United States is trying to circumvent the Taliban, Fleischer said, by dropping food directly to the people of Afghanistan. As of October 30, he said, the Department of Defense surpassed the 1 million humanitarian daily rations delivered to hungry people inside Afghanistan.

Fleischer noted that Andrew Natsios, the Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, early October 31 briefed President Bush on the humanitarian effort in Afghanistan and President Bush announced an additional $11.2 million for the purchase of local wheat and other food commodities in Central Asia. "That's above and beyond the $320 million the President had previously announced," Fleischer said.

The United States "is going through a massive effort to make certain that everything is done with an eye toward humanitarian needs. And that's why at the beginning of this, when I talk about massive effort, I'm referring specifically to the food deliveries. More than a million drops of food, rations of food, to help people in Afghanistan."

Asked to comment on accidental deaths of civilians in Afghanistan as a result of the military action there, Fleischer placed the blame on the Taliban.

"War could have been avoided," he said, if only the Taliban had agreed to President Bush's demands that they turn over Osama bin Laden, turn over his top lieutenants, turn over the people who are responsible for attacking the United States on September 11.

"And so, the decision to go to war was really made by the people who attacked our nation. And our nation is acting in self-defense," Fleischer said.

Civilian casualties, he said, are "unfortunately, a reflection of war, and this war was caused by the results of the people who attacked our country," who turned civilian airliners, "something that's a symbol of peace and transit, into a weapon."

"And we're acting in self-defense in the finest traditions that set our nation apart from most other nations," he said.

The United States, Fleischer said, can take a lot of pride in the fact that its military planners and the people who carry out the missions "try as hard as possible, more than most, to avoid civilian casualties."

Asked whether the United States will pause its military actions during the Moslem holy month of Ramadan, Fleischer said the U.S. will take whatever actions are necessary to defend itself against terrorism.

He pointed out that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld noted recently that many wars have been fought between Moslem nations during Ramadan, and that in Afghanistan itself the Taliban and the Northern Alliance have fought during Ramadan.

Asked about comments made this week by Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez urging that the bombing in Afghanistan stop, Fleischer said:

"Well, in response to these horrific attacks on the United States, the United States exercises its powers under the United Nations Charter and other treaties to act in self-defense. And President Chavez's remarks are not in accord with Venezuela's own position in the United Nations, in the Organization of American States, or in the Rio Treaty consultations."

President Bush, Fleischer said, "has taken the action he has taken with the support of most, if not all, of the world."

On the home front, Fleischer was asked to report President Bush's attitude about the anthrax situation.

"The President, I think like every American, wants this to get solved and solved right away. But he also understands that our nation has enemies. And even though in this case we don't know if they're foreign or they are domestic, there are people who are mailing anthrax through the mail in an attempt to murder American citizens. And at that point, it's a crime matter, it's an investigation. And the President understands that investigations take time to finally catch the people who are responsible," Fleischer said.

He added that the resources of the Federal Bureau of Investigation are fully dedicated to preventing further terrorist attacks and to stopping the spread of anthrax. "They're singly focused on those two missions," he said.