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| Ghani Addresses Congress, Eager to Rebuild Afghan-U.S. Ties | Ghani Addresses Congress, Eager to Rebuild Afghan-U.S. Ties |
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| WASHINGTON — Ashraf Ghani, the new president of Afghanistan, addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, pressing his case that he is a new kind of Afghan leader who is eager to work with the United States and rebuild a partnership that has frayed badly in recent years. | WASHINGTON — Ashraf Ghani, the new president of Afghanistan, addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, pressing his case that he is a new kind of Afghan leader who is eager to work with the United States and rebuild a partnership that has frayed badly in recent years. |
| Mr. Ghani’s refrain has become familiar in Washington this week. Since he arrived on Sunday, he has repeatedly thanked American troops for the sacrifices they made to aid his country since 2001, and American taxpayers for the hundreds of billions of dollars they spent to rebuild Afghanistan. | Mr. Ghani’s refrain has become familiar in Washington this week. Since he arrived on Sunday, he has repeatedly thanked American troops for the sacrifices they made to aid his country since 2001, and American taxpayers for the hundreds of billions of dollars they spent to rebuild Afghanistan. |
| “We owe a profound debt to the soldiers who have lost limbs to buried bombs, to the brave veterans, and to the families who tragically lost their loved ones to the enemy’s cowardly acts of terror,” Mr. Ghani said on Wednesday. “And we must acknowledge with appreciation that at the end of the day it is the ordinary Americans whose hard-earned taxes have over the years built the partnership that has led to our conversation today.” | “We owe a profound debt to the soldiers who have lost limbs to buried bombs, to the brave veterans, and to the families who tragically lost their loved ones to the enemy’s cowardly acts of terror,” Mr. Ghani said on Wednesday. “And we must acknowledge with appreciation that at the end of the day it is the ordinary Americans whose hard-earned taxes have over the years built the partnership that has led to our conversation today.” |
| Mr. Ghani’s willingness to work with the United States, in stark contrast to his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, has paid off: President Obama, after meeting with Mr. Ghani on Tuesday, announced that the United States would leave the 9,800 American troops currently in Afghanistan in place until the end of the year. | Mr. Ghani’s willingness to work with the United States, in stark contrast to his predecessor, Hamid Karzai, has paid off: President Obama, after meeting with Mr. Ghani on Tuesday, announced that the United States would leave the 9,800 American troops currently in Afghanistan in place until the end of the year. |
| The two men said the troops were needed to train and advise Afghan forces, who are doing the bulk of the fighting, through what is expected to be a bloody summertime push by the Taliban. Other American officials said that keeping the current force in place would allow American special operations troops and the Central Intelligence Agency to operate in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where the insurgents are strongest and where Al Qaeda’s presence is concentrated. | The two men said the troops were needed to train and advise Afghan forces, who are doing the bulk of the fighting, through what is expected to be a bloody summertime push by the Taliban. Other American officials said that keeping the current force in place would allow American special operations troops and the Central Intelligence Agency to operate in southern and eastern Afghanistan, where the insurgents are strongest and where Al Qaeda’s presence is concentrated. |
| The administration was largely in sync with Mr. Ghani even before this week’s visit, having been impressed by his willingness to work with American officials since he took office in September. It is congressional critics of the war, who have been put off by wasteful spending and the harshly anti-American rhetoric of Mr. Karzai, that Mr. Ghani sought to win over on Wednesday. | The administration was largely in sync with Mr. Ghani even before this week’s visit, having been impressed by his willingness to work with American officials since he took office in September. It is congressional critics of the war, who have been put off by wasteful spending and the harshly anti-American rhetoric of Mr. Karzai, that Mr. Ghani sought to win over on Wednesday. |
| The talking points that Mr. Ghani offered in his speech were the same that he has repeated throughout his visit: He again cited the more than 2,300 Americans killed in Afghanistan, and he stressed the need for his country to become more self-reliant. | The talking points that Mr. Ghani offered in his speech were the same that he has repeated throughout his visit: He again cited the more than 2,300 Americans killed in Afghanistan, and he stressed the need for his country to become more self-reliant. |
| Afghanistan, Mr. Ghani declared, must tackle corruption, which has become the dominant feature of the Afghan government, if the country hoped to shed its dependence on the billions of dollars in aid provided each year by the United States and other international powers, which pay the vast majority of Afghanistan’s bills. | Afghanistan, Mr. Ghani declared, must tackle corruption, which has become the dominant feature of the Afghan government, if the country hoped to shed its dependence on the billions of dollars in aid provided each year by the United States and other international powers, which pay the vast majority of Afghanistan’s bills. |
| “Nearly 40 years of conflict have produced a country where corruption and criminality permeate our government,” Mr. Ghani said. | “Nearly 40 years of conflict have produced a country where corruption and criminality permeate our government,” Mr. Ghani said. |
| “Until we root out this cancer, our government will never generate the trust to win the hearts and minds of our people,” he added. “We now openly and explicitly own these problems, and we have started this fight to overcome them.” | “Until we root out this cancer, our government will never generate the trust to win the hearts and minds of our people,” he added. “We now openly and explicitly own these problems, and we have started this fight to overcome them.” |
| Mr. Ghani also highlighted his familiarity with the United States, where he lived for more than 20 years, earning a doctorate at Columbia University and then teaching at other American Universities before spending 15 years as an executive at the World Bank in Washington. | Mr. Ghani also highlighted his familiarity with the United States, where he lived for more than 20 years, earning a doctorate at Columbia University and then teaching at other American Universities before spending 15 years as an executive at the World Bank in Washington. |
| The Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center was “horrific, and it was personal,” he said, noting that his wife also earned a degree from Columbia and that both of his children were born in New York, where his daughter still lives. | The Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center was “horrific, and it was personal,” he said, noting that his wife also earned a degree from Columbia and that both of his children were born in New York, where his daughter still lives. |
| “I was another beneficiary of America’s wonderful generosity that has built so many longstanding friendships through its unparalleled universities,” he continued. “I ate corned beef at Katz’s, New York’s greatest, greasiest, pickle-lined melting pot.” | “I was another beneficiary of America’s wonderful generosity that has built so many longstanding friendships through its unparalleled universities,” he continued. “I ate corned beef at Katz’s, New York’s greatest, greasiest, pickle-lined melting pot.” |
| The line garnered laughter and applause, and softened a speech that was focused primarily on the immense challenges still faced by Afghanistan, despite years of Western aid. The country is desperately poor, and its economy is in dire condition. The Taliban remain a potent insurgent force, and their Qaeda allies have yet to be defeated. | The line garnered laughter and applause, and softened a speech that was focused primarily on the immense challenges still faced by Afghanistan, despite years of Western aid. The country is desperately poor, and its economy is in dire condition. The Taliban remain a potent insurgent force, and their Qaeda allies have yet to be defeated. |
| But, seemingly well aware of his audience’s current fears, Mr. Ghani also cited the prospect of the Islamic State making inroads into Afghanistan, and said that he was committed to working with the United States and the rest of the international community to combat violent extremism. | But, seemingly well aware of his audience’s current fears, Mr. Ghani also cited the prospect of the Islamic State making inroads into Afghanistan, and said that he was committed to working with the United States and the rest of the international community to combat violent extremism. |
| “We are the front line, but the terrorists neither recognize boundaries nor require passports to spread their messages of hate and discord,” he said. “From the west, Daesh” — a name often used for the Islamic State — “is already sending advance guards to southern and western Afghanistan to test for vulnerabilities.” | “We are the front line, but the terrorists neither recognize boundaries nor require passports to spread their messages of hate and discord,” he said. “From the west, Daesh” — a name often used for the Islamic State — “is already sending advance guards to southern and western Afghanistan to test for vulnerabilities.” |
| A smattering of Taliban factions have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in recent months. But American and even some Afghan security officials say that the declarations were largely branding efforts by insurgents who are disaffected with their leadership, with no substantive links to the Islamic State. | A smattering of Taliban factions have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in recent months. But American and even some Afghan security officials say that the declarations were largely branding efforts by insurgents who are disaffected with their leadership, with no substantive links to the Islamic State. |
| Still, Mr. Ghani added, the Islamic State, the Taliban, Al Qaeda and other militant groups active in Afghanistan posed “a clear and present danger to our neighbors, to the Arab-Islamic world, and to the world at large. Afghanistan is carrying forward everyone’s fight by containing this threat.” |