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Obama tells Karzai to clean up corruption

29 March 2010 17:43 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Afghan president Hamid Karzai to clean up corruption and rallied troops to defeat the Taliban during a surprise visit to Afghanistan, APA reports quoting ABC News.
Mr Obama flew into Afghanistan under the cover of darkness aboard Air Force One and left before dawn after his first visit to the country since taking office more than a year ago.
He pressed Mr Karzai to step up the fight against corruption and the drugs trade and invited the Afghan leader to visit Washington on May 12.
Mr Karzai has pledged action against corruption, which infects every aspect of life in Afghanistan, as well as good governance and rule of law.
Mr Obama, whose relationship with Mr Karzai has been strained, urged his Afghan counterpart to "continue to make progress" on all fronts.
Afghan analysts say the visit sent a clear message to Mr Karzai that the US expects him to act on promises to eradicate graft before visiting Washington.
"Obama has set some homework for Karzai, reminding him that the anti-corruption issue must be taken more seriously and that not enough has been done so far," analyst Waheed Mujda said.
Haroun Mir, director of Afghanistan’s Centre for Research and Policy Studies, says Mr Obama’s visit sent a "strong message" to Mr Karzai.
"It was a strong message to president Karzai and his administration that the US cannot remain indifferent to the internal politics in Afghanistan," he said.
"I am sure before [Mr Karzai] goes to Washington in May he will have to take some proper measures to show that he has the intention and the political will to create some changes."
The visit, which included briefings with US General Stanley McChrystal and US ambassador Karl Eikenberry, gave the president the chance to assess the progress of his new war strategy.
After dining with Mr Karzai at the presidential palace in Kabul, Mr Obama donned a leather bomber jacket to tell cheering troops at Bagram he was confident they would stop the Taliban from regaining power and halt Al Qaeda.
"Our strategy includes a military effort that takes the fight to the Taliban while creating the conditions for greater security and a transition to the Afghans," he told US and NATO troops.
"But also a civilian effort that improves the daily lives of the Afghan people and combats corruption, and a partnership with Pakistan and its people, because we can’t uproot extremists and advance security and opportunity unless we succeed on both sides of the border."
Bagram, the biggest US base in Afghanistan, came under mortar fire after the president’s departure, a NATO spokesman said, adding there were no casualties.
Mr Obama’s visit coincided with a Washington Post poll that said 53 per cent of Americans approve of how he is handling the situation in Afghanistan.
The war against the Taliban, now in its ninth year, is claiming record fatalities among the 121,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, where Mr Obama is deploying reinforcements in an effort to bring the war to an end.
Around 136 foreign troops have died in Afghanistan so far this year, compared to 78 in the first three months of 2009.
But Mr Obama remains confident the Taliban can be defeated.
"We’re going to deny Al Qaeda safe haven," Mr Obama said.
"We’re going to reverse the Taliban’s momentum."