Bush, Karzai discuss stability in Afghanistan

President Bush commended Afghan President Hamid Karzai for his efforts by acknowledging in a meeting on Wednesday that Afghanistan is becoming a safer, more stable country, The Associated Press reported the same day.

“Mr. President, you have strong friends here,” Bush told Karzai. “I expect progress and you expect progress and I appreciate the report you have given me today.”

“I don’t know if you feel it in the United States but we feel it immensely in Afghanistan,” Karzai said, going on to highlight improvements in basic services such as roads and education.

Karzai asserted that the liberation of Afghanistan is often overlooked. However, the two leaders did not publicly mention Afghanistan’s record levels of poppy cultivation or the Taliban’s resurgence.

Karzai has pledged to initiate peace talks with the Taliban.

According to the article: “Bush, in New York for the annual gathering of the U.N. General Assembly, made only brief mention of the war in Afghanistan during his speech to world leaders Tuesday. He said the people of Afghanistan – and Iraq and Lebanon – were in a deadly fight for survival.”

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