Mr. Khalilzad: I must mention before anything else that it is a great success that almost nine million Afghans have already registered. This is really something to be very happy about and proud of.

Secondly, about the elections, I am very optimistic because the people of Afghanistan want the elections to take place. The elections won’t be a problem. The groups such as the Taliban extremists have already announced their war against the elections, they have murdered people who have registered to vote …But, just as a few months ago, they failed with the Loya Jirga, and they also failed in the process of voters registration, at the end, they will also fail in disturbing the elections process. The Afghans will choose their leader from among different candidates. They will choose their leader.

RFE/RL: It seems as though in the upcoming elections you might be supporting Mr. Karzai. Is this true? And there are some rumors indicating that behind the cover, the man in charge of Afghanistan is yourself, or at least, as they say, you are the “king maker”.
How would you respond to these rumors?

Mr. Khalilzad: Who will be the future president of Afghanistan? The US does not have a direct role in this. Who will be chosen among the candidates is up to the people of Afghanistan. The efforts of the US and the rest of the world are to make it possible that the militant rivalry that used to make decisions in the past will be converted to political rivalry, and through the people, the highest position in the country will be chosen by the people. We are pleased that some successful steps have been taken in this direction, but there shouldn’t be any question that the decision will be made by the voters and we have no say when it comes to that.

Your second question concerning what my personal role is. I know what my role is here. I am only a helper of the development of Afghanistan and it is my duty, and President Bush, who sent me here, has asked me to expedite the positive steps already taken, and cooperate with the officials and the people of Afghanistan. And the decisions concerning Afghanistan will be made by the Afghans, not by any other foreign country or any other special person from outside the country.

RFE/RL: If the Democrats win in the upcoming US presidential election, would the US Administration’s policy towards Afghanistan change or would it continue unchanged?

Mr. Khalilzad: I think a major change towards the policy in Afghanistan won’t occur. Because from what I see and what I read and from the talks I have had in the United States with Democrats and Republicans, I don’t see a major difference in their policy towards Afghanistan.

I can’t say the same about some other issues, but as for the policy towards Afghanistan, there’s not a major difference of opinions between the two parties. And as you saw, at the Democratic Convention in Boston, the candidate for the US president didn’t say anything different regarding Afghanistan.

RFE/RL: Mr. Khalilzad, another major issue that we need your opinion on…lately the issue of mistreatment and torture in the prisons of Iraq and a few such stories in Afghanistan have created some problems. And among the people it has created some sensitivity. Please explain this issue, although the newly appointed officials have assured people these stories won’t be repeated. Nevertheless, what do you think about it?

Mr. Khalilzad: Well, I have talked about this in the past, it’s been said that some of these incidents have occurred. A team was appointed not only to investigate these incidents, but also to do a general investigation of the situation of all prisoners as well. Our policy, the policy of the United States, is to treat prisoners, anywhere in the world, especially in this case, here in Afghanistan, in a humane manner. My hope is that if there were any problems in the past, they won’t be repeated in the future.

RFE/RL: Culturally, when a prisoners is stripped it is even more humiliating in Afghan culture than in the West and a person would rather die then being stripped. Also this problem is perceived differently in the West and in Afghan culture. Do you think that this issue should be considered?

Mr. Khalilzad: Yes, definitely. This issue has been regarded and will be regarded. We have shed light on this issue [to the officials]. You can count on it that the Afghan cultural issues are regarded and must be regarded.

RFE/RL: Another issue is the counterpropaganda against the American forces in Afghanistan and against the West. For instance, if I remember correctly, right before the Loya Jirga and before King Zahir [Shah] returned back to Afghanistan, [Gulbuddin] Hekmatyar had said that if the King comes back, he would be a second Babrak Karmal and that he would fight against him, etc.

Systematically, there is propaganda against the coalition forces, but from the coalition forces as well as the US side you hardly hear any kind of propaganda. The media in the United States has total freedom and with the competition between the parties, for example, in the case of alleged prisoner abuse in the prison, there has been a lot of coverage in the media. But there’s not much coverage on the positive aspects of the US role in Afghanistan.

You, yourself as a responsible person, what do you suggest could be done so that the people do not get confused and that they get the truth from media?

Mr. Khalilzad: This is a good thing. We should pay more attention to it and try to show the reality to the people of Afghanistan and let the people know of the positive things as well. Media has a responsibility in this aspect as well so that there shouldn’t be too much concentration only on negative issues, although negative things must be covered too. You can play a big role in this section.