WRAP Merkel, Karzai joint presser, Abdullah questions legitimacy of conference
(27 Jan 2010) Berlin 1. Wide pan of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Afghan President Hamid Karzai arriving for news conference at the Chancellery 2. Photographers taking pictures 3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hamid Karzai, Afghan President: "Afghanistan wants to soon be defending its own territory, its own people, with Afghan means. We have a journey to complete together towards that end of the Afghan security forces finding the ability and the capacity to provide security for the Afghan people. I''m very happy to hear from madame Chancellor that that has to be a goal, success-oriented, not time-bound." 4. Mid of journalists listening 5. SOUNDBITE: (German) Angela Merkel, German Chancellor: "It''s is very, very important that a signal will be sent to the Taliban: even when all Afghan forces have been trained, the international community will see to it that this army and police are able to survive. Otherwise the Taliban can hope to attack immediately when the police and security forces are not properly paid, and therefore not motivated. This requires a long term responsibility that we have for Afghanistan. That means no concrete date for withdrawal, but ambitious goals regarding the training of Afghan security forces." 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hamid Karzai, Afghan President: "By the end of my five-year term we are working hard to able to lead security operations all over the country. The training of the Afghan forces, both the military and the police, is an issue that Chancellor Merkel and I discussed in detail in the two meetings that we had, and that is going to be the focus of the Afghan attention and our partners in the international community." 7. Mid of cameraman filming 8. Wide of Merkel and Karzai zoom to mid shot as they shake hands Davos, Switzerland 9. Wide of meeting room 10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Abdullah Abdullah, former Afghan foreign minister and presidential candidate: "I think that eight years, nine years after the engagement of the international community one would have expected much more from a conference of such a calibre. But at the same time, unfortunately, because of the problems of the government of Afghanistan, which is the partner with the international community, it''s the same leadership, the same policies, more or less the same team and no concept for change, and that sort of, the good will of the international community is appreciated, the fact that it''s taking place will bring focus on Afghanistan, but I don''t think that it will meet the expectations of the people of Afghanistan nor those who are attending it." 11. Cutaway of large screen 12. SOUNDBITE: (English) Abdullah Abdullah, former Afghan foreign minister and presidential candidate: "I would say that it was a crucial decision, it was a critical decision, and I knew that we would be heading towards another fraudulent elections, and that would have taken the country to another crisis, so by accepting it and not boycotting it, by announcing not to participate rather than boycotting it, I prevented a lot of destructions, a lot of security problems which could have taken place, so it was a very difficult decision for me but it was the right decision." 13. Abdullah leaving STORYLINE: Afghanistan aims to soon reduce the burden on its allies of providing security, but Afghan forces will need long-term international support, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday. Karzai met German Chancellor Angela Merkel on his way to an international conference in London on his country''s future. Merkel has announced plans to send more troops and step up training of Afghan forces. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
