Wearing his trademark green robe and lambskin hat and with his right hand on a copy of Islam's holy book, the Quran, Karzai took the oath of office as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president.
The Associated Press reports that in his speech Karzai singled out America for particular thanks, while underlining the continued need for international support:
"Our fight against terrorism is not yet over," he said, warning of a deadly nexus between extremists and drug traffickers. "A decisive victory over terrorism requires serious and continuous cooperation at regional and international levels."
Vice President Cheney, representing the U.S. along with Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld told a group of U.S. soldiers:
For the first time the people of this country are looking confident about the future of freedom and peace.
This is a huge victory in the War Against Terrorism. In just three years Afghanistan has moved from the most tyrannical Islamofacist state to a budding democracy with its first popularly elected leader. Well done. Much hard work remains to be done in Afghanistan, but the progress is astounding.
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