DATE=04/30/2002

TYPE=EDITORIAL

NUMBER=0-09854

TITLE=EDITORIAL: AFGHANISTAN COMMITMENT

INTERNET=Yes

CONTENT=THIS EDITORIAL IS BEING RELEASED FOR USE BY ALL SERVICES.

Anncr: Next, an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government:

Voice: The United States-led coalition has helped the Afghans to remove the oppressive Taleban regime from their country. The al-Qaida terrorist network once roamed freely in Afghanistan, but has been severely disrupted. While coalition forces are hunting down the terrorist remnants, Afghanistan is starting to rebuild.

An interim government, headed by Chairman Hamid Karzai, is in place. A special independent commission is now overseeing the process of district selections of representatives. They will determine the composition of the Loya Jirga, the national assembly scheduled to convene in June. The Loya Jirga will choose a new government and procedure for writing an Afghan constitution.

An international security force patrols Kabul, the Afghan capital. Police and other Afghan officials are being paid. Schools are open. Roads are being repaired and are being made safe to travel on. According to the United Nations, the highway from Islamabad, Pakistan, to Kabul is open to unaccompanied traffic. The road from Kabul to Kandahar is also open. Refugees are returning to their homes, and the former king of Afghanistan is back for the first time in twenty-nine years.

The U.S. is providing the largest share of economic assistance to Afghanistan. At a January conference on reconstruction, the U.S. pledged more than two-hundred-ninety-six million dollars.

Many other countries are also making significant contributions to Afghanistan. Jordan has set up a hospital in Mazar-e-Sharif that has served more than eighteen-thousand patients. Spain operates a hospital in Bagram, and South Korea is setting up a medical facility in Manas. Russia established a hospital in Kabul and has brought in more than four-hundred thousand tons of food, over two-thousand tons of medicine, thousands of beds, and thirteen small electric power stations.

"Much remains to be done," said U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, "and admittedly a lot of what remains will be difficult to accomplish." But as Mr. Powell said, "At long last Afghanistan is on a positive track."

Anncr: That was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government. If you have a comment, please write to Editorials, V-O-A, Washington, D-C, 20237, U-S-A. You may also comment at www-dot-ibb-dot-gov-slash-editorials, or fax us at (202) 619-1043.