Bush says UN has role to play

American President George Bush has embraced for the first time the idea that the United Nations could play a central role in the rebuilding of Afghanistan after an eventual ousting of the Taliban regime. "It would be a useful function for the United Nations to take over the so-called nation-building - I would call it the stabilisation of a future government - after our military mission is complete," Bush told reporters at a news conference on Thursday evening. Bush's use of the word "nation-building" is significant as that is what he charged had gone wrong with American foreign policy during the Clinton years, first in Somalia, then in the Balkans. American forces were tied down in missions other than defending America, he said in a debate last October. "I've talked to many countries that are interested in making sure that the post-operations Afghanistan is one that is stable, and one that doesn't become yet again a haven for terrorist criminals," Bush said. Bush noted that America "should learn a lesson from the previous engagement in the Afghan area, that we should not simply leave after a military objective has been achieved." He was referring to the civil war following the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989, which paved the way for the Taliban and, in turn, for Usama bin Laden. "We've got to make sure that all interested parties have an opportunity to be part of a new government; that we shouldn't play favourites between one group or another within Afghanistan," Bush added. In response to a question about Bush's comments at a news conference on Friday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said: "Any arrangement which is not seen by the Afghans as home-grown would be difficult. One cannot impose a government on the Afghan people." He added: "We should be prepared to help [the Afghan people] through the difficult humanitarian phase, then through a transitional period if they come together and were to form a broad-based government." He said that he suspected that the UN would also have a "role to play" in the provision of international assistance, rehabilitation and reconstruction. "It would not surprise me if the [ Security] Council were to give us an expanded mandate for Afghanistan," Annan said.