7/29/2010 Biden says there will be no sectarian violence in Iraq
WASHINGTON, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden affirmed here Thursday that in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq he is willing to bet everything that there will be no explosion of sectarian violence in that country.
In an interview with NBC Today show, Biden said "we'll still have 50,000 battle-tested combat troops in Iraq ... going from leading in combat to supporting the Iraqi combat capability." "So I think neither I nor General Odierno nor the Pentagon nor the people who have been on the ground so many times think that is likely to happen," he added.
On Afghanistan, Biden stressed "were in Afghanistan for one express purpose -- al Qaeda, the threat to the United States, al Qaeda that exists in those mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are not there to nation-build." He affirmed saying "I assure you we are doing significant damage to al Qaeda in Pakistan as well as in Afghanistan. So we're making progress ... But the truth of the matter is that there's more to go."
WASHINGTON, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden affirmed here Thursday that in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq he is willing to bet everything that there will be no explosion of sectarian violence in that country.
In an interview with NBC Today show, Biden said "we'll still have 50,000 battle-tested combat troops in Iraq ... going from leading in combat to supporting the Iraqi combat capability." "So I think neither I nor General Odierno nor the Pentagon nor the people who have been on the ground so many times think that is likely to happen," he added.
On Afghanistan, Biden stressed "were in Afghanistan for one express purpose -- al Qaeda, the threat to the United States, al Qaeda that exists in those mountains between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We are not there to nation-build." He affirmed saying "I assure you we are doing significant damage to al Qaeda in Pakistan as well as in Afghanistan. So we're making progress ... But the truth of the matter is that there's more to go."
Regarding the leak of classified documents by web whistleblower Wikileaks, Biden noted, "what was talked about in those leaks were the intelligence community within the ISI. That is the sort of the CIA of Pakistan." "That has been a problem in the past. It is a problem we're dealing with and is changing," he remarked. He stressed that, "all those leaks predate our policy. Not one leak is consistent with the policy that was announced in December." Biden affirmed, "what isn't happening is there are not monies being diverted from the public works and economic projects that are needed to sustain a democracy in Pakistan to the bad guys that exist within Pakistan." He continued saying, "there's not money being diverted from the military purposes that are designed to deal with counterterrorism to those areas."
