US will give Karzai measures to end corruption

BERLIN (AFP) – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that Washington will give Afghan President Hamid Karzai a set of measures to root out the corruption undermining allied efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.

Clinton signalled the Obama administration's growing impatience with Karzai, declared the victor of a fraud-marred election, when she said the steps are needed to leave "no doubt" as to what Washington expects from the relationship.

Speaking at festivities for the 20th anniversary of the Berlin Wall's fall, Clinton won Germany's support when new Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said Kabul must "adhere to the yardsticks that underlie good governance."

Massive fraud uncovered after the August 20 presidential election highlighted the scale of corruption in Afghanistan's government and has led to enormous international pressure on Karzai to clean up graft.

With the stakes mounting for the international alliance in Afghanistan, the chief US diplomat made it clear that President Barack Obama's administration would seek specific action, not just promises, to end corruption.

The Obama administration is gripped by an internal debate over its strategy there amid requests from the in-field commander, General Stanley McChrystal, for up to 40,000 more troops to defeat a growing Taliban insurgency.

The allied commitment "has to be met by an even greater commitment of the new government of President Karzai... to deliver services for the people of Afghanistan, to begin the effort to root out corruption, to have more accountability and transparency in the way that the government operates," Clinton said.

"We are very clear that we will be expecting more from the government of Afghanistan, and it is certainly a mutual commitment" from both Germany and the United States, Clinton said.

She said Obama would not be engaging in such a "thoughtful, deliberative process" if he did not believe that conditions in Afghanistan threaten not only US but international security.

"We are going to present to the government of Afghanistan, President Karzai, a clear set of expectations and of accountability measures so there can be no doubt as to what we expect from this relationship," Clinton said.

In an interview to be broadcast on US television, Karzai vowed to remove corrupt officials after warnings that Afghanistan could see billions of dollars in international aid dry up unless his new government tackles corruption.

However, in the PBS television interview, Karzai dismissed allegations made against top officials, including his brother, Wali -- widely accused of being involved in the opium trade.

Karzai said he had asked US and European officials to present evidence of his brothers alleged corruption, but there was "never an answer."

"Where we have found such corruption, we have addressed it," he said, adding that allegations his brother also worked for the CIA "doesn't surprise me at all," because the CIA was "in contact with a lot of people."

Karzai, long supported by western governments, has seen ties with the West sour dramatically since he was re-elected in a widely condemned poll.