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Hamid Karzai vowed a crackdown on corruption. |
KABUL - President Hamid Karzai pledged yesterday that there would be no place for corrupt officials in the new Afghan administration, a demand made by Washington and its international partners as they ponder sending more troops to confront the Taliban and shore up his government.
Also yesterday, NATO reported that three more coalition soldiers - one American and two Britons - died in combat with the Taliban in western and southern areas. The latest losses pushed Britain’s combat death toll in the eight-year war to 201.
With casualties mounting, corruption has become a front-burner issue in Afghanistan, with US President Obama and other world leaders under pressure from their own constituents to explain why they are sending young soldiers to fight and die in defense of a government riddled with graft, cronyism, and fraud.
Obama is considering a request from the top US and NATO commander to send tens of thousands more US troops to curb the growing Taliban insurgency.
Karzai was proclaimed the winner last week in a fraud-marred presidential election after his only remaining challenger dropped out ahead of a runoff, saying he did not expect a fair vote.
With his reputation sullied by the messy election, Karzai gave assurances yesterday that he would rid his government of corrupt officials. “Individuals who are involved in corruption will have no place in the government,’’ he said.
Karzai also said donor countries share some of the responsibility for rampant corruption because of a poorly structured system to manage projects.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
