April 7, 2010
Galbraith insinuates Karzai’s a poppyhead (video)
(4-6) Gibbs press briefing
Is WH meeting with Karzai being canceled…is Karzai an ally…did Secy Clinton get clarification of comments from Karzai…is Karzai’s promise to get bin laden credible.
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Q On Karzai, are you considering canceling this May 12th meeting?
MR. GIBBS: We certainly would evaluate whatever continued or further remarks President Karzai makes as to whether that’s constructive to have such a meeting, sure.
Q Sort of, three strikes you’re out?
MR. GIBBS: I’ve not seen the form that one fills out to cancel the meeting.
Q But what are the consequences for those remarks? I mean, he’s been pretty defiant. He kind of doubled down on those remarks after a call from Secretary Clinton.
MR. GIBBS: I can’t speak to why he said those things…I mean, they’re troubling, they’re confusing; they’ve been investigated and they’ve been found to be untruthful. So whether there’s some domestic political benefit that he’s trying to gain, I can’t say.
We are in Afghanistan, and our young men and women are in Afghanistan because of the threat that al Qaeda and its extremist allies pose, and posed on September 11th when attacks planned in that area came to New York and just outside of Washington, D.C. So we are there to — for the safety and security of our country. And we understand, and we think that President Karzai needs to understand, that the safety and security of his country is not going to be gained simply by rooting out or moving extremist threats in certain areas that isn’t ultimately then filled with good governance. The President has been clear with President Karzai, going back to last fall, and in numerous meetings and videoconferences since.
JAKE TAPPER: Is Karzai our ally?
MR. GIBBS: Karzai is the democratically elected leader of Afghanistan.
Q But that’s not what I asked. Is he our ally? Is he the ally of the United States?
MR. GIBBS: There are times in which the actions that he takes are constructive to governance. I would say that the remarks he’s made — I can’t imagine that anybody in this country found them anything other than troubling.
So our position on this, Jake, is that when the Afghan leaders take steps to improve governance and root out corruption, then the President will say kind words. When leaders need to hear stern language from this administration about the consequences of not acting, we’ll do that as well.
Q If I could follow on Jake’s follow, which is — (laughter) –
MR. GIBBS: Little early for Wimbledon.
Q Peter Galbraith was on MSNBC this morning saying that Karzai was mentally unstable and suggesting that he was on drugs. Following up on Jake, is he a credible partner to the U.S.?
MR. GIBBS: Again, he is the democratically elected leader of Afghanistan. And as I just said to Jake, we will not hesitate to ensure that the remarkable investment that our men and women are making is met with the type of governance that has to be in place in order to secure parts of a dangerous country.
We’ll continue to speak out again if need be. And we want to see President Karzai fulfill the commitments that he enunciated both at his inaugural address and at a donors conference in London — those commitments he made not just to his people but to the international community that have invested in ensuring the security of his country.
[...]
Q Robert, did the United States receive a clarification of Karzai’s remarks that you asked for last week?
MR. GIBBS: Secretary — President Karzai called Secretary Clinton I believe on Friday, yes.
Q And did that clarify anything?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I’d refer you to the statement that PJ in the State Department on that, yes.
Q Well, PJ made it sound as though Karzai was stunned that his remarks caused a stir.
MR. GIBBS: Well — (laughter) — now you’re asking me to think for Karzai through PJ. So I think it’s — (laughter) — that seems out of body.
Q Well, do you need a further clarification?
MR. GIBBS: Again, as I’ve said, the remarks are troubling and untruthful. Again, I don’t know why somebody continues to insinuate that there was some sort of foreign corruption when the very thing that he speaks of was looked into. So I can’t begin to decide what reasoning he had for making those comments. Again, our focus is on ensuring that he is continuing to take the necessary steps in governance and corruption.
[...]
Q Robert, on two things. On Karzai and his statements, what kind of credibility concerns are there when it comes to Karzai’s commitment to find Osama bin Laden?
MR. GIBBS: Well, look, I don’t want to get into, from up here, the efforts that are ongoing to specifically root out and identify and capture terrorists. We’ve obviously — you’ve seen the President step up the pacing in this region of the world, in both Afghanistan and in the surrounding countries, to the point that has degraded the capabilities of al Qaeda. And I would just leave it at that.
Q But has he caused any kind of concerns in this administration about his credibility? Are you concerned that there are credibility issues with him after these statements about voting in his country?
MR. GIBBS: About what?
Q The voting statements in his country.
MR. GIBBS: Well, again, I think that we have — we found the remarks to be — continue to be troubling. I don’t — I think people that read the remarks here don’t understand based on, as I said earlier, based on the notion that what he alleges has fully been investigated.
Q But I understand you about the remarks, but does it lend you to feel like, okay, it might permeate into other areas, it’s not just about this one area? Are there concerns about other areas –
MR. GIBBS: Again, we have and the President has been concerned about governance and corruption in Afghanistan before the election, during the time period in which the election was in flux, and on the phone call congratulating President Karzai on his reelection. So obviously the team spent an enormous amount of time discussing governance and corruption during the Afghanistan-Pakistan review that took place over the fall, over many, many hours.
