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Clinton in Afghanistan for Karzai Inauguration

By VOA News
18 November 2009

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Afghanistan ahead of President Hamid Karzai's inauguration.

In her first trip to Afghanistan as secretary of state, Clinton is expected to join foreign dignitaries and Afghan leaders for Thursday's inauguration ceremony in Kabul.

Afghan authorities have already deployed additional security throughout the capital. The inauguration itself will be a private event held on the heavily-guarded grounds of the presidential palace. There is no large public ceremony expected.

Western powers are closely watching President Karzai for signs he is serious about fighting rampant corruption within his government.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on the eve of Mr. Karzai's inauguration that he is less concerned with the trustworthiness of one individual than he is with the trustworthiness of the government as a whole.

Mr. Obama, who is expected to announce his decision on US troop levels in the coming weeks, says his administration is presenting "very clear benchmarks" for the Afghan government to secure the war-torn country.

Mr. Obama did not elaborate on those measures during an interview with CNN (broadcast Wednesday), saying only that the U.S. has a vital interest in making sure that Afghanistan is what he called "sufficiently stable."

Meanwhile in Berlin Wednesday, Germany's cabinet decided to extend by one year the mandate for its Afghan military mission. The deployment, which is unpopular in Germany, is expected to be approved by parliament before the mandate expires in December. There are about 4,000 German troops serving in Afghanistan, the third largest contingent of foreign troops behind the United States and Britain.

On Tuesday, NATO's secretary-general said he is confident allies will send "substantially more troops" to Afghanistan, giving new momentum to the mission.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a NATO parliamentary assembly in Scotland he expects more forces for the war-torn country, but only as part of a wider strategy to eventually hand over security to Afghans.