AFGHANISTAN: U.S. DEPUTY DEFENCE SECRETARY PAUL WOLFOWITZ ARRIVES IN KABUL TO DISCUSS US WAR AGAINST TERRORISM AND ACCIDENTAL BOMBING OF A RURAL WEDDING PARTY

Record ID: 223025

  • Title: AFGHANISTAN: U.S. DEPUTY DEFENCE SECRETARY PAUL WOLFOWITZ ARRIVES IN KABUL TO DISCUSS US WAR AGAINST TERRORISM AND ACCIDENTAL BOMBING OF A RURAL WEDDING PARTY
  • Date: 15th July 2002
  • Summary: (U4) KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (JULY 15, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. WS: PRESIDENTIAL PALACE 0.05 2. MV: UNITED STATES DEPUTY DEFENCE SECRETARY PAUL WOLFOWITZ AND AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTER ABDULLAH ABDULLAH ENTER ROOM 0.13 3. SCU: PRESS IN ROOM 0.17 4. SV: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL WOLFOWITZ SAYING: "And we have just concluded an excellent hour and a half of discussions with President Karzai and the Foreign Minister, Defense Minister Fahim and other members of the cabinet. The discussions centred most of all I think it is fair to say on the importance of training and developing the Afghan National Army, but in a sense I would say more broadly on the importance of strengthening those national institutions that can move Afghanistan forward that can enable Afghanistan to overcome wounds of 20 years of civil war." 0.0.53 5. WS: NEWS CAMERAS 0.57 6. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL WOLFOWITZ SAYING: "We very much regret anytime that innocent people are killed and all the evidence suggests that innocent people were killed and we deeply regret that. At the same time we are still involved in difficult situations in this country where there are people responsible for terrorists or terrorists themselves or people who are attacking our forces and when we are in a situation in a combat zone, unfortunately sometimes mistakes are made. General McNeil and his people are undertaking a thorough investigation in that incident in order to do everything we possibly can to prevent that kind of mistake in the future." 1.48 7. SCU: CAMERA OPERATOR 1.53 8. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTER ABDULLAH ABDULLAH SAYING: "When he was assassinated here, of course it is by the enemies of peace, of course it is by the enemies of stability, there might be al Qaida or Taliban links in it, there might be the issue of the drug, the war against drug cultivation and the whole thing involved, but whatever it is Hajji Qadir was a target and he was a member and he was a full supporter of this process and his contributions during the Loya Jirga was imminent throughout the Loya Jirga and the enemies have chosen him as a target." 2.25 9. SCU: PHOTOGRAPHER 2.30 10. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (English) AFGHAN FOREIGN MINISTER ABDULLAH ABDULLAH SAYING: "General McNeil will continue the job of a thorough investigation, this is what was needed, this was a demand by the Afghans as well as by the authorities as well as that the United States have made it clear right from the beginning that a thorough investigation would be conducted. Perhaps different views are expressed in different parts of the country, an Afghan individual here and there, they might see it differently, but we are satisfied with the measures which have been taken so far and we are also aware that with 100% measures, one cannot prevent incidents in a war in a 100% manner, that we also are aware of." 3.13 11. SV: PRESS 3.18 12. SV: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PAUL WOLFOWITZ SAYING: "The problem with al Qaida is not just the problem of one individual, it is not just a problem in Afghanistan, al Qaeda was a network burrowed into some sixty countries around the world, it had a headquarters here in Afghanistan , but it had a headquarters in Germany and the United States and in France and in Morocco and you don't take it down the way you may kill a poisonous snake by chopping off the head, it is more like an infection in the body and you have to go after the pockets of infection all over the place, yes so we would very much like to bring Mr. Bin Laden to justice if it has not happened already and we don't know for sure, but our real goal is to go end terrorism and that requires going after the whole network." 4.08 13. WS: PEOPLE LEAVING THE ROOM 4.13 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 30th July 2002 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Reuters ID: LVA3IDG6WDE874BSSNWA9YBL4LA1
  • Story Text: U.S. Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has
    arrived in the Afghan capital under tight security to discuss
    Washington's war against terrorism and the accidental bombing
    of a rural wedding party.

    The U.S.-led war against the al Qaeda network of Osama
    bin Laden, blamed for the September 11 attacks on Washington
    and New York, will be on the agenda when Wolfowitz meets
    President Hamid Karzai and Defence Minister Mohammad Fahim on
    Monday (July 15), one official said.

    This month's U.S. bombing of villages in the central
    province of Uruzgan which killed 48 people and wounded 117
    would also be discussed, they said. Locals say one bomb landed
    on a wedding party, killing more than 20 people. Villagers say
    the bombing was unprovoked, but the U.S. military says it was
    responding to hostile fire in the home province of Taliban
    leader Mullah Omar.

    Wolfowitz will also visit U.S troops based at Bagram Air
    Base to the north of Kabul.

    The United States launched air strikes on Afghanistan last
    year to flush out al Qaeda fighters and punish their Taliban
    protectors.

    Some 12,000 U.S.-led coalition forces are still hunting
    for al Qaeda and Taliban remnants while the International
    Security Assistance Force maintains security in Kabul.
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