Kerry ‘Very, Very Comfortable’ With Karzai Saying the Media Misconstrued His Offensive ‘Collusion’ Remarks

[WestVirginiaRebel]

CNS News:

(CNSNews.com) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai now says his recent comments suggesting collusion between the U.S. and Taliban were misinterpreted by “the media,” and that explanation appeared to satisfy Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday, even though the contentious remarks were made during a nationally televised speech.

Moreover, Karzai made similar insinuations during a meeting in Helmand province two days after the original March 10 speech, according to Afghan and U.S. media reports.

After Karzai told reporters in Kabul Monday that his words had been misinterpreted, Kerry said he was “very, very comfortable with the president’s explanation.”

“I think the president would be the first to say that sometimes in public, a statement is made that is a reflection of something that you’ve heard or some input that you have that reflects a point of view,” he said.

“But I’m confident that the president absolutely does not believe the United States has any interest except to see the Taliban come to the table to make peace,” he added.

If Karzai’s words were misconstrued as he says, then they were misinterpreted by Afghan and foreign media organizations as well as by 22 Afghan opposition parties – who came together to repudiate them – and by NATO and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) officials.

Among those who rejected Karzai’s comments in the ensuing days were ISAF commander Gen. Joseph Dunford and White House press secretary Jay Carney (who both called the allegation “categorically false”), and NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (who called it “an absolutely ridiculous idea.”)

After meeting with Kerry on Monday, Karzai told reporters it was all a misunderstanding.

He said he had been making the point that ongoing Taliban attacks on innocent Afghans were not achieving the group’s declared aim of getting foreign troops to leave, but giving foreign troops reason to stay.

It was the media, Karzai said, that had used the word “collusion.”

“I never used the word ‘collusion’ between the Taliban and the U.S., and those were not my words. Those were used – picked up by the media.”

In fact, Karzai in the March 10 speech made the comments about Taliban violence in the context of accusing U.S. officials of meeting behind his back with Taliban representatives, in Europe and Qatar, “on a daily basis.”

Media accounts of his speech – which took place during a visit by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel – generally used words like “suggested” or “implied” in characterizing Karzai’s comments. (CNSNews.com said, “implying that the U.S. and Taliban are colluding in violent attacks.”)

________

 

Smart diplomacy backtracks.