1. A week later, the Wolesi Jirga again approved only seven of the candidates.

2. So, after hours of talking and tracking them down, and about 30 cups of tea, they finally agreed that we could sit down for a second jirga, and we did.

3. 19 We congratulate on the success of the Peace Jirga and believe that Afghanistan will achieve peace, stability and development under the joint efforts of the Afghan Government and people.

4. I had three other appeals that I wanted to make: first, to call on President Hamid Karzai, after receiving the compelling vote of confidence from the Emergency Loya Jirga, to redouble his efforts to extend the authority of the Transitional Administration beyond Kabul; secondly, to call on the Afghan diaspora to respond to President Karzai’s call for them to return to help in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, which would go much further in helping Afghanistan than criticism from afar; and thirdly, to call on the Afghan delegates who participated in the Emergency Loya Jirga and who showed a tremendous amount of political courage and maturity to continue to display the same degree of commitment in the months and years ahead.