I have two questions, Mr. Chairman.
First of all, Ambassador, it's good to see you again. Again, we appreciate working side by side with members of the Afghan National Army in particular.
When we were in Kabul in June, one particular person who impressed me was Dr. Massouda Jalal, a former minister for women's affairs, formerly dealing with the Afghan human rights, and twice presidential candidate. We talked a lot about reconciliation. The concern she raised on the issue of women's rights was that, depending on what types of arrangements are made with Taliban--we're know they're not monolithic, but it depends--if they come into Parliament, the erosion of women's rights....
In other words, take the number of children we've seen who have gone to school: over six million. Of the 600 doctors who graduated a couple of years ago, half of them were women, etc. The concern is that the national action plan for women that the Afghan government launched in 2007 would be in peril. And I'd like you to comment on that issue.
The second question I would put on the table is really always the elephant in the room, and that is the state of corruption in Afghanistan, and particularly the issue of aid money that is going and is not being properly utilized or is simply disappearing--or there's not the capacity to utilize it.
Then one of my colleagues will take the second round, or even this round, depending on the answer.