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Today the President’s schedule was
virtually clear except for three pivotal meetings with leaders from two
pivotal countries. He was joined by Vice President Biden first for a
meeting with President Karzai of Afghanistan, then with President
Zardari of Pakistan, and finally for a trilateral meeting with both of
them. He was flanked by the two leaders when he spoke to the press afterwards:
We meet today as three
sovereign nations joined by a common goal: to disrupt, dismantle, and
defeat al Qaeda and its extremist allies in Pakistan and Afghanistan,
and to prevent their ability to operate in either country in the
future. And to achieve that goal, we must deny them the space to
threaten the Pakistani, Afghan, or American people. And we must also
advance security and opportunity, so that Pakistanis and Afghans can
pursue the promise of a better life.
He went on to discuss the specific tasks ahead:
There is much to be done. Along
the border where insurgents often move freely, we must work together
with a renewed sense of partnership to share intelligence, and to
coordinate our efforts to isolate, target and take out our common
enemy. But, we must also meet the threat of extremism with a positive
program of growth and opportunity. That is why my Administration is
working with members of Congress to create opportunity zones to spark
development. And that is why I’m proud that we’ve helped advance
negotiations toward a landmark transit-trade agreement to open the
Afghanistan and Pakistan border to more commerce.
Within Afghanistan, we must
help grow the economy, while developing alternatives to the drug trade
by tapping the resilience and ingenuity of the Afghan people. We must
support free and open national elections later this fall, while helping
to protect the hard-earned rights of all Afghans. And we must support
the capacity of local governments and stand up to corruption that
blocks progress. I also made it clear that the United States will work
with our Afghan and international partners to make every effort to
avoid civilian casualties as we help the Afghan government combat our
common enemy.
Within Pakistan, we must
provide lasting support to democratic institutions, while helping the
government confront the insurgents who are the single greatest threat
to the Pakistani state. And we must do more than stand against those
who would destroy Pakistan – we must stand with those who want to
build. That is why I have asked Congress for sustained funding for
schools, roads, and hospitals. I want the Pakistani people to
understand that America is not simply against terrorism – we are on the
side of their hopes, and their aspirations. Because we know that the
future of Pakistan must be determined by the talent, innovation and
intelligence of its people.
(President Barack Obama (center) with Afghan President Karzai and Pakistan President Zardari during
a US-Afghan-PakistanTrilateral meeting in Cabinet Room May 6, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
(President Barack Obama (center) with Afghan President Karzai and Pakistan President Zardari
during a US-Afghan-PakistanTrilateral meeting in Cabinet Room May 6, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza )
(President Barack Obama (center) with Afghan President Karzai and Pakistan President Zardari
during a US-Afghan-PakistanTrilateral meeting in Cabinet Room May 6, 2009.
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
(President Barack Obama (center) with Afghan President Karzai and Pakistan President Zardari
walk along the Colonnade following a US-Afghan-PakistanTrilateral meeting in Cabinet Room
May 6, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
(President Barack Obama with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari
and Vice President Joe Biden during a statement in the Grand Foyer of the White House May 6, 2009.
Official White House Photo By Lawrence Jackson)
(President Barack Obama, Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zadari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, give remarks to the media following their trilateral meeting at the White House Wednesday, May 6, 2009. Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
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