Thank you, Mr. Bouchard.
Clearly poverty is one of the root causes of terrorism. And in warring regions, such as Afghanistan and Pakistan, there are a lot of people who live in deplorable conditions.
These are the fundamental challenges, to be able to get aid to those people and to give them an alternative to turning to the Taliban organization for a life and livelihood that leads them towards violence.
So yes, I share the concern. I share the vision of all of the participant countries who want to do more but in practical terms are struggling with this same issue that we're talking about here--namely, how do we in practical ways deliver that aid, provide that alternative into these extremely remote and rugged areas of the country, and engage them in political and diplomatic terms to convince them that this is the alternative?
So there's not only transcending the language and cultural barrier; there's also clearly the very real physical limitation in terms of access to parts of the region. But awareness efforts are continuing, and the Pakistani government is open to participation.
Just to go back for a moment to Mr. Hawn's question, the fact that we have in Pakistan a government that is committed to democracy, that has obviously indicated that they're going to have free and democratic elections, is something we can never forget or lose sight of. That country is a stable country in comparison to Afghanistan. It's not a perfect democracy--no country is--but they are committed to that principle.
I think it's very easy to point out everything that's wrong, and all of the huge, enormous challenges that lie before us, but let's be thankful for some of the fundamentals that do exist. We now have a government in Afghanistan that wants us and needs us there. Similarly, Pakistan is committed to fair and free elections, committed to an openness to the assistance and the efforts that we, along with others, are prepared to provide.