Obama says hell keep heat on Karzai over graft

9/10/2010 09:20:21 AM

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says he will keep up the pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to clean up corruption in his government.

Obama told a White House news conference Friday that a successful Afghan government has to be seen as clean and fair. He says there's been some progress on that front, but not enough.

Karzai has bristled at what he sees as heavy-handed U.S. pressure, and he has blamed U.S. development money for fueling graft.

Obama seemed to acknowledge the delicate politics involved. He said he wants to be sure the United States isn't sending mixed messages — condemning corruption on one hand and condoning or funding it on the other.