Excerpt from Speech by President Hamid Karzai

American University of Afghanistan Groundbreaking Ceremony
21 March 2005

As we are laying down the foundation stone of this university today, we should understand that our country cannot make progress unless we have our own engineers, doctors, diplomats and accountants. Today I am very happy. America has assisted us in various areas. America assists us in whatever we build... They are our friends. This is an honor for them and a great pleasure for us. We should be grateful to them for assisting us in terms of reconstruction, particularly today, as the foundation stone of the education of Afghanistan's sons is laid down.