QUESTION: The – President Karzai has made an offer to safeguard or to guarantee the safety of Mullah Omar if he were to be willing to engage in negotiations. What does the Bush Administration think about such an offer?
MR. MCCORMACK: Well – and I have his transcript here as well, and he was talking about this in terms of political reconciliation in Afghanistan. And he makes quite clear in the transcript that in order for there to be political reconciliation or even to have discussions, the Taliban or others need to be willing to abide by the laws and the constitution of Afghanistan, to put aside their – you know, their arms, you know, to forego violence against Afghanistan and the Afghan state.
And it’s quite clear that the Taliban has not made that decision. Whether it’s Mullah Omar or on down, you have numerous examples of the fact that they have not turned away from violence, they have not turned away from trying to subvert the progress Afghanistan has made, and they have not turned away from using violence against Afghan citizens. There was just a terrible incident within the past week or so where the Taliban threw acid at schoolgirls, just – you know, just an awful, awful attack, the kind of – that brings back memories of the kind of violence that the Taliban perpetrated against the Afghan people while they had control of Afghanistan.
So, you know, President Karzai, as I read the transcript, was laying out a set of conditions, and a set of conditions whereby if individuals met them, then there would be the possibility of this reconciliation. But he makes quite clear when he says here, “But we are not at that stage yet. Right now, I have yet to hear from the Taliban leadership that they are willing to have peace in Afghanistan. They have to prove – they must prove themselves.”
So, you know, in a sense, that is – you know, that sort of hypothetical in no way addresses the current situation you have in Afghanistan or the – in Afghanistan. And so, in that sense, I don’t interpret his – President Karzai’s remarks as offering some sort of amnesty or safe passage to Mullah Omar.
QUESTION: Well, but I mean, here’s the thing. I mean, the way my colleagues, you know, interpreted it and the way it has been reported was that he was offering some kind of safe passage or a guarantee of safety. And the thing that I find perplexing is, given you just alluded to the violence perpetrated by the Taliban against his own people, let alone, you know, 9/11, I don’t understand why the Bush Administration, which has a $10 million reward out on Mullah Omar, would find it remotely acceptable, the idea of bringing someone like him into --
MR. MCCORMACK: I’m not saying we do.
QUESTION: Well, but do you or don’t you?
MR. MCCORMACK: I’m not – we’re not negotiating with the Taliban, and the Rewards for Justice program that you mentioned concerning Mullah Omar still is very much in place.
QUESTION: So you would oppose this?
MR. MCCORMACK: we are still fighting against those who would attack us and threaten us. We are still fighting against those who are threatening and attacking the Afghan state.
QUESTION: Right. So why are you reluctant to say yes, we oppose this, this is a man we hold responsible partly – or partly responsible for the deaths of, you know – you know, 3,000 American and other citizens in 2001?
MR. MCCORMACK: Look, we are – you know, we are going after the Taliban and that includes Mullah Omar, as evidenced by the Rewards for Justice program. There’s no evidence that the Taliban is turning away from violence. You know, all of that said --
QUESTION: Well, shouldn’t you --
MR. MCCORMACK: All of that said, there – you know, President Karzai insists and – that there needs to be a reconciliation, a political reconciliation within Afghanistan. You know, we have seen in other places, like Iraq for example, that political reconciliation is important. Now, the Iraqi example and the Afghan example are completely separate in terms of the facts on the ground and the situations. But this is something that President Karzai thinks is important trying to lay out the possibility of a reconciliation. You know, for our part, we certainly are not going to negotiate with the Taliban.
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