In news from Washington, President Bush openly ignored Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s assertion that Iran has had a positive influence in Afghanistan. On Sunday, Karzai appeared on CNN and said Iran has “been a helper” in Afghanistan. But on Monday at a joint news conference at the White House, Bush accused Iran of being a destabilizing force in the region. He said, “They’re not a force for good, as far as we can see. They are a destabilizing influence, wherever they are now.” Meanwhile, Karzai acknowledged that the security situation is worsening in Afghanistan, but he claimed the Afghan government is not vulnerable to the Taliban.

Hamid Karzai: “The Taliban do pose dangers to our innocent people, to children going to school, to our clergy, to our teachers, to our engineers, to international aid workers. They’re not posing any threat to the government of Afghanistan. They’re not posing any threat to the institutions of Afghanistan or to the buildup of institutions of Afghanistan. It’s a force that’s defeated. It’s a force that is frustrated.”

Karzai also admitted Afghanistan has failed in its attempts to eradicate poppy production. The Associated Press recently reported Afghanistan will produce another record poppy harvest this year, cementing its status as the world’s near-sole supplier of the heroin source.

Hamid Karzai: “Yes, we do have the problem of poppies and narcotics in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is committed to fighting it, because this evil is first hurting us, and then youth in the rest of the world. So this is for Afghanistan to work against and for the rest of us to work against. We are committed. It will take time. We are realistic about that. But the fight is there.”

President Bush and Hamid Karzai also ruled out making any concessions to free the 21 Korean hostages being held by the Taliban. Meanwhile, here in New York demonstrators gathered at the United Nations on Monday to urge the U.N. to step in to help the hostages.

Peter Jon of the Korean-American Association: “This is not only a matter limited to Koreans; it could happen to anybody, to anyone in the whole world. The whole wide world, including the U.N. and the U.S., have to come together, take it seriously, take immediate and serious action to free those hostages held by Taliban in Afghanistan.”