Photo Gallery 'Afghanistan Is Not Vietnam'
In his interview with DER SPIEGEL, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani denied that he or his running mate had declared victory in September's national election. "There is initial confidence, but that is it," he said. "We will wait for the final results."
Ghani inside the presidential palace in Kabul. Of the recently collapsed direct talks between Washington and the Taliban, he says: "The Taliban miscalculated massively on all fronts. They underestimated the resilience of the Afghan people. They also fatally misread President Trump."
But Ghani says he is still willing to negotiate with the Taliban to deliver peace to his war-torn country. However, he says, "We need to come back to a course that is chosen by us, not others."
He also criticizes the Taliban for its portrayal of Ghani's government and the Afghan security forces as having been defeated. "Afghanistan is not Vietnam -- nobody is hanging on to helicopters here in Kabul to flee the country," he says.
Once the counts are in, Ghani says he will go back into academia if he is not re-elected. In his interview, though, he showed few signs of concern that he could lose. "The signs are good that I will have five more years to work hard for the future of Afghanistan," he says.
President Ghani sits together with DER SPIEGEL reporter Matthias Gebauer during their interview in Kabul.
