Obama vows to keep pressing Karzai on corruption

9/10/2010 10:20:23 AM

WASHINGTON – US President Barack Obama on Friday vowed to keep up pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to tackle widespread corruption, saying it threatened the stability of that country.

Speaking at a news conference falling on the eve of the September 11 anniversary, Obama renewed his determination to pursue the war in Afghanistan and the 2001 attacks' fugitive mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Obama spoke of progress on various fronts in Afghanistan, but said it was crucial to tackle corruption "as part of helping President Karzai stand up a broadly accepted, legitimate government."

Obama said that every time he talks to Karzai, he reminds him the "only way you are going to have a stable government over the long term is if the Afghan people feel you are looking out for them."

"And that means making sure that the tradition of corruption in the government is reduced," he added.

"And we're going to keep on putting pressure on him on that front."

Obama acknowledged that corruption would not end "overnight" in Afghanistan, which he described as a desperately poor country where illiteracy runs at 70 percent.

But Obama pledged that no US government entity would tolerate corruption in Afghanistan, saying there would be no "mixed message" on the problem.

"Let's make sure that our efforts there are not seen as somehow giving a wink and a nod to corruption. If we are saying publicly that that's important, then our actions have to match up across the board," Obama said.

The Obama administration has had uneasy relations with Karzai in part because of its public entreaties to him end corruption, which according to polls is a major grievance for ordinary Afghans.

Senator John Kerry, a close ally of Obama, last month visited Kabul and said that Karzai promised he would fight corruption. But US officials have voiced fears that Karzai is weakening key anti-corruption bodies.

After taking office last year, Obama wound down the US mission in Iraq but has accelerated the war against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, tripling the US forces to about 100,000 on the ground.

Obama said he was determined that Afghanistan is "never used again as a base for attacks" such as the September 11 atrocity, which killed some 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania and the Washington area.

Obama said that the United States has managed to "ramp up the pressure" against Al-Qaeda since he took office, with authorities constantly seeking leads.

But, in response to a question, he said that the United States still wanted to find bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri.

"I think capturing or killing bin Laden and Zawahiri would be extremely important to our national security. Doesn't solve all our problems, but it remains a high priority of this administration," Obama said.