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CNN Sunday Morning

Bush Emphasizes Importance of Broad-Based Government in Afghanistan

Aired November 18, 2001 - 09:14   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is winding down his stay at his Texas ranch, and plans to head back to Washington today, where he will try to help shape Afghanistan's new government.

CNN's Major Garrett joins us from Crawford, Texas with more on what the president has lying ahead of him -- Major.

MAJOR GARRETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Marty.

U.S. administration officials are encouraged by some of the initial signals received today from the Northern Alliance Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who appears to have expressed a willingness to conduct a meeting on the future of a broad-based multiethnic government in Afghanistan outside of the capital of Kabul.

There had been some resistance initially from the Northern Alliance on that subject, but in a meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Mr. Abdullah gave the OK to the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan, James Dobbins. And the United States would like to see that meeting occur as soon as possible.

Now why is all this so important to the U.S. president? Well, the United States simply does not want to see another civil war in Afghanistan once the Taliban is defeated. And as military mop-up operations continue, there is a real concern among international diplomats that if, in fact, the Northern Alliance resists any attempt to create that broad-based multiethnic government, the Pashtuns in the south, who are the plurality in Afghanistan, once the military operations are concluded, will turn against the Northern Alliance.

There are many Pashtuns in Pakistan. And if you have a Pashtun rebellion against the Northern Alliance with a sympathetic Pakistan, that could destabilize the whole situation.

President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed these issues in a considerable amount of detail during the two days they spent here in Crawford for the Bush-Putin summit. And at the end of that summit, while they were taking questions from students at Crawford Elementary School, President Bush explained the intricacies of creating a new government in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Any government, in order for it to be -- achieve its objectives, must represent all the interests in Afghanistan, not only the Northern Alliance, which has been a very effective fighters on the ground, but also the Pashtun tribes, which are generally in the southern part of the country. And we are working to figure out a strategy to make sure that that happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT: Now the question arises, Marty, what kind of levers, what kind of leverage does the U.S. have in trying to make all of this happen in Afghanistan?

Well, administration officials like to point out that if the Northern Alliance resists their entreaties to create this broad-based government, they know that they're going to lose foreign aid, access to foreign trade, and will invite internal strife -- something that U.S. officials are betting the Northern Alliance does not want to create for itself as it tries to join in a government for Afghanistan -- Marty.

SAVIDGE: Let's hope that's right. Major Garrett joining us from Texas this morning, following the president. Thank you very much.

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