Remarks by Secretary Kerry at Brussels Conference on Afghanistan

Despite the many challenges – and we’ve heard about them from each of the distinguished speakers thus far – I want – I am genuine when I say that I come here with an enormous sense of confidence about the future. And the reason is partly because year by year, our shared effort – one of the largest international coalitions ever assembled and maintained over a sustained period of time – is, in fact, yielding encouraging dividends. And I ask everybody here to measure that. Each speaker has focused on one component or another of the changes in Afghanistan, but I just want to highlight a few others.

Now, everybody here understands the violence that has plagued Afghanistan for decades. And it has left very deep wounds and those wounds will take time to heal, particularly when new attacks by the Taliban and other armed opposition reopen those wounds or simply refuse to let them heal. - Read More

Remarks by Secretary Kerry at Brussels Conference on Afghanis