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              Ghani: Afghan Partnership with US Is 'Foundational'

   by Carla Babb, Pamela Dockins

   Afghan President Ashraf Ghani visited the Pentagon Monday to thank U.S.
   troops for their sacrifice and struggle in his country, honoring them
   "on behalf of a grateful nation."

   Speaking in the center courtyard of the five-sided U.S. military
   headquarters, Ghani paid tribute to the 2,215 U.S. service members who
   died in Afghanistan since 2001 and the more than 850,000 who served
   there over the past 14 years.

   He vowed the threat of terrorism would "never subdue" Afghans.

   "We are going to overcome," President Ghani told the Pentagon crowd of
   service members and their families. "Our partnership with the United
   States is foundational because we will be the first line of defense for
   freedom globally."

   U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter stressed the importance of
   defeating terrorists in the southeast Asian nation to prevent future
   attacks against the United States.

   "Because just beyond these walls stands a memorial honoring all those
   who perished when the Pentagon was attacked on that bright, fateful day
   in 2001," Carter told the crowd.

   More than military gains

   Ghani focused on more than just the fighting and military training of
   the U.S. forces, thanking the U.S. military members for building
   schools, dams and roads that have helped the nation make social and
   economic improvements.

   A touching moment came when Ghani directly addressed some individual
   members of the crowd. He told Reese Larson, the nine-year-old daughter
   of Lieutenant Lonn Larson who is currently serving in Afghanistan, to
   remember that her father is there to make a difference. He also brought
   her greetings for the three million Afghani girls who attend school in
   Afghanistan today.

   "Fourteen years ago there were exactly none, so each one of them wants
   to entertain the hopes that you do, and your dad is making this
   possible," Ghani told her.

   The Afghan president even thanked American taxpayers for the funding to
   support his country and vowed not to "be a burden."

   "Terrorism is a threat, it's evil," Ghani said as he greeted U.S.
   Defense Secretary Ashton Carter at the Pentagon. "But we the people of
   Afghanistan are willing to speak truth to terror by saying, 'No. You
   will never overwhelm us. You will never subdue us. We are going to
   overcome.' And in this endeavor our partnership with the United States
   is foundational because we will be the first line of defense for
   freedom globally."

   Meeting with Obama, Biden
   Ghani and Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah are meeting Tuesday
   with  President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, with Ghani
   addressing a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday. On Thursday, the
   Afghan leaders head to New York for meetings with United Nations
   officials.

   High on the agenda for the U.S.-Afghan talks is the pace of the
   withdrawal of the remaining 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan, now
   stationed there to advise and train Afghan troops after the last
   American combat forces withdrew at the end of last year.

   Troop drawdown
   The Afghan leader is seeking to slow the pace of the U.S. troop
   drawdown, as Kabul's forces continue to face terrorist attacks on a
   daily basis.

   Before leaving Kabul, Ghani said he realizes that the pace of the
   withdrawal is "a very complicated domestic issue" in the U.S., where
   Obama has announced plans to cut the troop level to 5,500 by year's end
   and even less by the time he leaves office in early 2017.

   The Afghan leader said, "We will explain the condition, what we are
   doing, how we are bringing those efficiencies and then we need to let
   the internal process take over and arrive at decisions that serves our
   need, the global needs and the security of the United States."

   White House spokesman Josh Earnest said last week that Obama is hearing
   from his national security team and commanders on the ground about the
   proper way to manage the pace of the drawdown and the proper way to
   sequence base closures.

   "And, I think it is common sense that we would make these decisions
   about our troop presence relative to the security situation, and the
   United States is no longer responsible for the security situation in
   Afghanistan," Earnest said. "But the United States is interested in
   making sure that we have the troop presence that can protect forces
   that are on the ground. We want to make sure that we can continue to
   have some counterterrorism capability in Afghanistan, because there are
   still extremist elements operating in Afghanistan that do pose a threat
   to our interests."
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/ghani-afghan-partnership-with-us-is-f
   oundational/2691253.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ghani-afghan-partnership-with-us-is-foundational/2691253.html