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At UN, Zalmay Khalilzad Gets By
With a Little Help From His Friends
Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of
Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis
UNITED
NATIONS, September 3 --
Under fire for providing advise to Pakistani politician Asif Ali
Zardari,
Zalmay Khalilzad on Wednesday came to speak to the Press and try to put
it
behind him. He said that he has friendships which "precede my
assignment
and my role in the U.S. government. And just because I am a
government
official now doesn't mean that I should end those friendships and
relationships
that I've had with many people." Fair enough. Inner City
Press asked, video
here
at Minute 6:12
Inner
City Press: when Mr. Zardari said that you were going to provide him
with, I
guess, advice, one, was that accurate? And two, will you have been
providing
advice in your personal capacity or as a State Department official?
Ambassador
Khalilzad: Well, number one, I don't
know what Mr. Zardari said, because it was alleged that in some phone
conversation
between one of our officials, Mr. Zardari had said something that he's
looking
for something from me. I have not
provided him with any advice. The only
thing
we have talked repeatedly about since he has been there, besides my
offer of
condolences, is just every -- I think, again, the frequency that was
referred
is completely wrong.
Zalmay Khalilzad on Sept. 3, I
contain multitudes
I
have probably talked to him six or seven times since he -- they've gone
back to
Pakistan, and most of it around the time of them moving to Pakistan and
with a
-- that's not in the nature of advice.
It has been "How are you."
It's family, "When can we get together," kind of
what friends
would do.
But,
look, I have been ambassador to two very sensitive countries, Iraq and
Afghanistan. I know the complexities of
managing relations with sensitive countries.
And I'm also aware of the phone being an unreliable,
untrustworthy
instrument for communicating, in terms of security.
So I wouldn't see somebody as experienced as
myself offering advice to a friend on an open line, on behalf of the
United
States. That simply is -- you'll have to give me a little more credit
than
that.
So,
the -- no, I've not offered him any political advice.
Listen, I'm not only -- people contact me not
only from his party, so just -- (inaudible) -- straight, I know others
in
Pakistan, who belong to other parties, that I have relations with and
friends
with, and they contact me to say "Hello, how are you?" just to be in
touch.
So,
no, the -- I don't know whether there was a misunderstanding, what Mr.
Zardari
said was misconstrued. I can't
second-guess that. But, no. As I said,
only on one or two occasions a substantive issue was raised with me at
that
time that -- especially that he -- they were not in Pakistan
and didn't have contact with the -- with that embassy.
And I just immediately of course reported
that to the Secretary and to others.
What were those substantive
matters? In the interim, for lighter fare, click here.
Watch
this
site. And this (on
South Ossetia),
this, on
Russia-Georgia,
and
this --
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