WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Sunday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai must do better for U.S. support, adding that the Obama administration would convince the American people that the war in Afghanistan can be won.
"We've delivered that message. Now that the election is finally over, we're looking to see tangible evidence that the government, led by the president but going all the way down to the local level, will be more responsive to the needs of the people," said Clinton in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos.
"We are not going to be providing any civilian aid to Afghanistan unless we have certification that if it goes into the Afghan government in any form, that we are going to have ministries that we can hold accountable," said Clinton, when asked how the Obama administration will ensure sending more troops to Afghanistan is not a waste of lives and money.
According to Clinton, who is accompanying President Obama in Asia for visit, the Obama administration has been trying to "create an atmosphere in which the blood and treasure that the United States has committed to Afghanistan can be justified and can produce the kind of results that we're looking for."
Obama is expected to announce a new strategy for Afghanistan, including sending up to 40,000 more troops to fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida terror networks in the country. By the end of this year, according to previous deployment plans, there will a total of 68,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Critics, including U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, warn that sending more troops to Afghanistan would be a waste of American lives and money and would boost Kabul's reliance on U.S. troops unless Karzai can really improve ability to tackle his government's corruption and mismanagement.
An Afghan soldier stands guard in front a C-27A transport aircraft which was given by the U.S. military, in Kabul November 15, 2009. The U.S. military will give Afghanistan 20 refurbished transport planes over the next two years, U.S. and Afghan officials said on Sunday, doubling the size of its depleted air force. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
KABUL, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The United States, as part of its efforts to boost the capacity of the fledgling Afghanistan Air Force, pledged on Sunday to donate 20 aircrafts and of these two C-27 have been handed to Afghanistan.
The remaining 18 more aircrafts would be handed over to Afghanistan within the next two years. Full story
WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Amid speculations on U.S. President Barack Obama's final decision on a pending troop buildup in Afghanistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates hinted Thursday that U.S. military presence in that country is not open-ended.
Talking to reporters aboard a plane en route to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Gates said Obama's decision, which White House said is still weeks away, would "signal to the Afghans as well as to the American people that this isn't an open-ended commitment." Full story
KABUL, Nov. 4 (Xinhua)-- President Hamid Karzai's top challenger Abdullah Abdullah on Wednesday described the election body's decision to have announced the sitting Karzai as the winner as illegal and vowed to continue struggle.
"The decision announced by the so-called Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Monday is illegal and I am determined to continue my struggle for the betterment of the people," Abdullah said at his first press conference after Karzai was announced by IEC as the winner. Full story
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday urged the Afghanistan government to ensure the legitimacy of the presidential election process, following a key presidential challenger quit the election.
Accusing President Hamid Karzai of failing to meet his demands for a fair and transparent vote, presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah said Sunday that he decided to quit the election, which is set on Nov. 7. Full story
WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Increasingly pressed to make a quick decision on whether to send more U.S. troop to Afghanistan, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Monday that he "will never rush" on such a decision. Full story
