President Obama, speaking this afternoon in front of the White House, said the Afghan people showed “dignity in the face of disorder” with yesterday’s election.
“We’ve seen acts of violence and intimidation by the Taliban. We knew the Taliban would try to derail this election,” he said. “Yet even in the face of this brutality, millions of Afghans decided to choose their own leader and determine their own destiny. I believe that the future belongs to those who want to build, not those who want to destroy. That is the future sought by Afghan people who went to the polls.”
This morning, presidential candidates Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah both declared victory; this afternoon, Abdullah said a runoff between the two was likely.
“The U.S. did not support any candidate in this election,” Obama said today. “Our only interest is a result accurately reflecting the will of the Afghan people.”
The president also said the war in Afghanistan is “not a challenge that we asked for,” but instead “came to our shores” with the 9/11 attacks.
He ended his remarks by wishing the Afghanistan people a “blessed month as they come together for the beginning of Ramadan,” which starts tomorrow.
