Following are excerpts from the transcript of Fleischer's briefing with his comments about Afghanistan:

And let me also give you, before I take questions, an update on some of the humanitarian information, some of the latest facts and statistics on the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.

As of November 26th, the Department of Defense has air dropped 1,883,100 humanitarian daily rations into Afghanistan. Since mid-October, the United Nations World Food Program, through U.S. assistance, has delivered enough food into Afghanistan to feed 6 million hungry Afghans for one month.

On November 23rd for the first time, food aid was airlifted into Afghanistan from Tajikistan. Seventeen metric tons of wheat flour, which is enough for almost 275,000 people, was delivered to provide food aid to remote locations in Northeastern Afghanistan.

And, finally, a ship carrying 10,000 metric tons of food aid for Afghans left Port Lake Charles, Louisiana on November 20th. And that's all courtesy of the Coalition Information Center.

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Q: Ari, there are reports out of Kabul that women activists have been prohibited from marching in the streets by the Northern Alliance. Is the CIC aware of that? And given the administration's keen focus on women's rights there, is the United States going to take a stand on that?

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, again, the message the administration is carrying to the talks in Germany and in all the conversations the United States has with the parties in Afghanistan is the importance of having a multiethnic government that also includes a role for women in the future government of Afghanistan.

The United States is not under any illusions that it will be done easily, right away. We're talking about different regions of the world, where people have their own cultures and histories. And the future shape of Afghanistan will fundamentally be determined by the people of Afghanistan. The United States will continue to play a helpful and constructive role in it. We cannot dictate every day's events to everybody all throughout Afghanistan.

But the President will speak out clearly, as he did at Fort Campbell last week, about the need for people in Afghanistan to follow human rights procedures, and treat people well, including the women of Afghanistan.

Q: Are you saying that you are, or are not aware of this prohibition?

MR. FLEISCHER: On this specifically, I have not heard that one issue. I'm aware of other issues that raise questions. It's not always easy. But I have not particularly heard on that one.

Q: But at the moment, the administration is comfortable that the Northern Alliance may not share its goal for a place for women in a post-Taliban world?

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, first of all, you have to remember when you're talking about the Northern Alliance, you're talking about a very wide collection of different people in different regions, who are constantly doing different things. So it's not fair to say that there's one policy that the Northern Alliance puts in place for every person in Afghanistan. There is really separate entities that constitute the Northern Alliance.

The United States message will continue to be consistent with all those entities about the need to treat women with respect. But certainly, I think it's fair to say, when you look at events on the ground in Afghanistan, the liberation of Afghanistan by the Northern Alliance and by the Pashtuns in the south, of what was previously held Taliban territory, has been nothing but a liberating experience for women.

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Having said that,
thanks to the United States, the life of women in Afghanistan has improved immeasurably. The condition of women in Afghanistan today, compared to what it was three, even four weeks ago before the fall of the Taliban, has led to a dramatic improvement in the quality of lives of women in Afghanistan. Children are going to school again. Young girls know that they can get educated again. The situation has changed immensely for the better.