First lady: Women's rights crucial

WASHINGTON -- As talks began overseas on a new Afghan government, first lady Laura Bush said women's rights are critical to the stability of post-Taliban Afghanistan.

"It's also very important for the stability of Afghanistan, once the new government is formed, to make sure every child there is offered an education -- not just the boys," Mrs. Bush said Tuesday.

The first lady gathered around her 11 women exiled from Afghanistan, who nodded in agreement as she reported that they all were very encouraged by the early stages of talks that began Tuesday in Bonn, Germany, on how four Afghan factions will share power in a new government.

Mrs. Bush said her White House guests "know how crucial this time is to make sure that the Afghan government will be diverse and include everyone."

In Germany, two women were among the Afghan delegates at the table.

The first lady noted that all of her visitors were educated -- either in Afghanistan before they fled, or in the United States.

"I don't have any choice in how the new government is made, but I hope that one principle of that new government will be human rights, and that includes the rights of women and children," she continued.

"The stability of Afghanistan is very dependent on making sure that human rights are a very clear part of the new government. And, of course, human rights include the rights of women and children."

Mrs. Bush appeared earlier Tuesday on ABC's Good Morning America to press the cause of Afghan women. She sidestepped a question about whether the United States also has an obligation to speak out against the treatment of women in countries such as Saudi Arabia, where women are banned from many professional jobs and cannot drive or travel alone, or Kuwait, where women cannot vote or run for office. Both Persian Gulf nations are key members of President Bush's international anti-terror coalition.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said that while the administration will continue to speak out about oppression of women in Afghanistan, it will not seek to force the new government to grant broader rights.

Yemen pledges cooperation

WASHINGTON -- The president of Yemen met with President Bush on Tuesday and said because terrorism has hurt the Middle Eastern country, its people are as determined as the Americans to root out terrorists.

Bush met with President Ali Abdullah Saleh for 45 minutes. Bush thanked Saleh for his cooperation in the U.S.-led battle against terrorists but also "emphasized the need to turn that cooperation into results," White House spokesman Sean McCormack said.

McCormack did not elaborate on results the United States wants. But U.S. officials have run hot and cold on Yemen's cooperation in the investigation into last year's attack on the USS Cole.

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