19 November 2009 / REUTERS , KABUL
US President Barack Obama aims to bring the Afghan war to an end before he leaves office, he said on Wednesday, the eve of a swearing-in ceremony Western officials hope can help salvage Hamid Karzai’s tattered reputation.
Hillary Clinton arrived in Kabul to attend the re-elected Afghan president’s inauguration, her first visit as US secretary of state and the most senior visit by a member of Obama’s administration, which has kept Karzai at arm’s length. Karzai takes his oath today, three months after a vote marred by widespread fraud. The election, intended to bolster the government’s legitimacy, had the opposite effect, driving a wedge between Karzai and Western countries whose troops defend him. Clinton, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner will be among 300 foreign dignitaries to attend the ceremony at Kabul’s presidential palace. In an interview with CNN, Obama said he would soon announce the results of a long-awaited review, which would include an exit strategy to avoid “a multi-year occupation that won’t serve the interests of the United States.”
