(6 of 7)
TIME: One of the other things that we have noticed about your role is that you don't have room for a personal life. You haven't taken a day off since you came to power. Are you burning out? Are you exhausted?
Karzai: I am burning out. When I feel burned out I am immediately reminded of Frost's great poem: "The woods are lovely, dark and deep/ But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep/ and miles to go before I sleep." We have a lot of miles to go. A lot of miles to go. I think no Afghan president, even after my term is complete, will have an option on this account. I have to work very hard. You can't imagine how destroyed this country was. You can't imagine how dispirited this country had become. How miserable it had become. Unbelievable. When you go to the country, to the mountains where I was fighting the Taliban, I came across families and people who had nothing on earth. Nothing. And if they survived it worked. We have to provide them a better life. It will take time, it will take effort, and it will take very hard work. And no vacations.
TIME: So how do you relax? How do you calm down? Karzai: I think the best form of relaxation comes when I inaugurate a road, or see a good report, or I see that people have begun to have a better life or things like that have come a long way and that relaxes me a lot. I am very happy. I am looking forward to inaugurating the Torkham-Jalalabad road with the prime minister of Pakistan. That is a great sense of relaxation. Achievement is relaxation. What took away from my relaxation this morning with the bomb blast is replaced by looking forward to the inauguration of the road from Torkham to Jalalabad.
TIME: So something like the bomb blast doesn't give you more concern for your own security? You are not able to travel around the country I'm sure as much as you like.
Karzai: I think I have done a lot compared to what our means are. I've been to about 20 provinces of the country. I travel almost every month to a province. We are an understaffed government. We don't have the means, but even then we try to go and visit as many provinces as possible. One could do it more often, but then the schedule in Kabul is too heavy. And I believe that is what [chief of staff] Ludin should do. The lighter the schedule here the more chance I have to visit the provinces. The scheduling is the problem. Not only for visits to the provinces, but also for picking up a telephone and trying to contact people. I like to call provincial governors and ask them well, how are things? I rarely get a chance for that. Between meetings I run and make calls.
Ludin: Sir, your scheduling reflects the demands here on your time so I cannot...
Karzai: I was not criticizing. (Laughs) I was demanding.
TIME: There were reports that you used to sneak out from time to time on your own. Can you still do that?
Karzai: Yes, I have done that sometimes.
TIME: Recently?
Karzai: About 15 days ago. Around Kabul. Loved it, it was very good. Just took an unmarked vehicle and went around the city. Stopped by shops, shook hands with people and security was not informed. It was great. I would like to do that more often.
TIME: What was the reaction of your security staff?
Karzai: They were not happy. They have a job to do as well.
TIME: A number of people have said to us that they sort of wished that you hadn't said that you wouldn't run again for President. Is there any chance that you would amend that now?