UNiFEED Story: UN / KHALILZAD (2.34), U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad comments on the recent allegations by American administration officials that he has been having unauthorized contact with Asif Ali Zadari, the leader of the Pakistan's People's Party. UNTV

03 September 2008

UN / KHALILZAD (2.34)

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad comments on the recent allegations by American administration officials that he has been having unauthorized contact with Asif Ali Zadari, the leader of the Pakistan's People's Party. UNTV

Broadcast Quality Downloads

Broadcast-quality video for UNifeed stories is available online for two weeks. Should you wish to request older material, please contact the agency source of the material. For UNTV or peacekeeping stories, please contact the UN Video Library.

Full Script

STORY: UN / KHALILZAD
TRT: 2.34
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 3 SEPTEMBER 2008, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

1.Wide shot, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations approaching microphone
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Zalmay Khalilzad, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"I have many contacts and friends around the world. I've been in the business for a long time and the contacts and friendships many of them precede my assignment and my role in the United States government, and just because I'm a government official now, doesn't mean that I should end those friendships and relationships I've had with many people, particularly from the region of the broader Middle East, including Afghanistan and Pakistan."
3. Cutaway, journalists taking notes
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Zalmay Khalilzad, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"I am the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, I am proud of the job that I have here, having represented the United States, continue to represent the United States, I am an American, I have no plans, I am not a candidate, I have no plans of becoming a candidate, that when I leave here I will work in the private sector."
5. Cutaway, hands taking notes
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Zalmay Khalilzad, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"We have done our own investigation and have come up with numbers that are very different than the Afghan Government and the United Nations us alleging, and we have offered to do a joint investigation with the Afghans and the United Nations. I believe there is a bit of a fog of war involved in some of these initial reports; let the investigations clarify exactly what has happened. Our people are quite confident of their numbers and the offer of a joint investigation with the United Nations and Afghan government is very important."

STORYLINE:

United States (US) Ambassador to the United Nations (UN)Zalmay Khalilzad spoke to journalists outside the Security Council just after returning from a short leave, to clarify some reports published in U.S. newspapers concerning his contacts with foreign government officials, among them Asif Ali Zardari, a contender to succeed Pervez Musharraf as president of Pakistan.

Khalilzad said that he had many contacts and friends around the world preceding his role in the US government. He added that because he was a government official now, didn't mean that he should end friendships.

Responding also to speculation that he might seek to succeed Hamid Karzai as president of Afghanistan, he laughed, saying he was the Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, that he was an American and that he had no plans of becoming a candidate.

On another issue regarding claims by the UN and the Afghan government that a US air strike in western Afghanistan two weeks ago killed at least 90 Afghan civilians, Ambassador Khalilzad said that the US government had completed their own investigation and the numbers were very different than those from the Afghan Government and the UN.

He said that he believed there was "a bit of a fog of war involved in some of these initial reports," adding that the offer from the US government of a joint investigation with the UN and Afghan government was very important.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30

Breadcrumb Trail

Services

UN / KHALILZAD (2.34)

Broadcast Quality Downloads

Full Script