and the afghan army and effective afghan government that the people can believe in. that s the weakest part. larry: has anybody consulted you on this? i have been in regular touch with authorities within the administration and the president. larry: you talked to the president? from time to time, yes. larry: and do they talk about afghanistan with you? all the time. larry: what do you make of mr. karzai? what is your read on him? mr. karzai is a nationalistic leader. he has said some things in the last few days which show some discomfort, displeasure on his part with respect to some of the things that we are doing. the late night raids, but you know, he wants american troops to eventually leave his country. guess what? so do we. and so there is a difference of opinion as to how this strategy should be pursued. should it be strictly going after terrorists? should it be trying to essentially do an effective counterinsurgency mission where you re in large extent taking over
with authorities within the administration and the president. larry: you talked to the president? from time to time, yes. larry: and do they talk about afghanistan with you? all the time. larry: what do you make of mr. karzai? what is your read on him? mr. karzai is a nationalistic leader. he has said some things in the last few days which show some discomfort, displeasure on his part with respect to some of the things that we are doing. the late night raids, but you know, he wants american troops to eventually leave his country. guess what? so do we. and so there is a difference of opinion as to how this strategy should be pursued. should it be strictly going after terrorists? should it be trying to essentially do an effective counterinsurgency mission where you re in large extent taking over the running of a country? when we send in an american infantry battalion to the province and say straighten it out that commander is going to go in there and become almost the governm
mr. karzai is a nationalistic leader. he has said some things in the last few days which show some discomfort, displeasure on his part with respect to some of the things that we are doing. the late night raids, but you know, he wants american troops to eventually leave his country. guess what? so do we. and so there is a difference of opinion as to how this strategy should be pursued. should it be strictly going after terrorists? should it be trying to essentially do an effective counterinsurgency mission where you re in large extent taking over the running of a country? when we send in an american infantry battalion to the province and say straighten it out that commander is going to go in there and become almost the government for a while. we have to make sure that doesn t turn out to be the permanent case. you ve got to bring in the real afghan government. so there is a difference of view right now but i don t think it s fundamental. i don t think they re at logger heads. larry: