U.S. to Pledge $40 Million for Afghanistan Elections
THE HAGUE — The United States will commit $40 million to underwrite the cost of holding elections in Afghanistan this summer, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday, as she began selling the Obama administration’s new Afghanistan policy to friends and foes.
In a sign of its determination to break from the Bush administration, the Obama administration no longer uses a signature Bush phrase, the “war on terror,” Mrs. Clinton confirmed.
“The administration has stopped using the phrase,” she said, “and I think that speaks for itself.”
The pledge of $40 million for the election will help pay for the distribution of ballot boxes and the counting of ballots. It is separate from the costs of providing security for the election.
The conference, though led by the United Nations, is largely Mrs. Clinton’s initiative. She pushed for it to be held and for Iran to be included on the list of invited countries. She will be accompanied by Richard C. Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/wo..._r=1&th&emc=th
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