September 26, 2007

Bush & Karzai Tout Security Gains In Afghanistan

When President Bush met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the United Nations today to discuss the security situation in that country, the meeting was bolstered by the news that coalition forces had killed about 160 Taliban insurgents in two separate battles yesterday. Only one foreign soldier was felled in the clashes, the U.S.-led coalition announced. The Taliban disputed those numbers, calling them propaganda, Reuters reports.

In New York this morning, Bush and Karzai "discussed drug-fighting operations, the battle against al-Qaida and the Taliban and the development of energy using Afghanistan's natural resources," AP reports.

"Afghanistan has indeed made progress," Karzai said, as Bush reassured the Afghan president that "you've got strong friends here." Bush went on to say that he expects "progress" to continue in Afghanistan, despite the resurgence of the Taliban and the escalating drug trade there.

Agence France-Presse has more on the meeting, and Bloomberg News reports on the U.N.'s call for negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Posted at 4:19 PM
Posted to: Afghanistan, Bush Administration, President Bush
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