Clinton in Kabul for Karzai inauguration
Agence France-Presse | 11/18/2009 9:22 PM
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KABUL - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to attend the inauguration of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a US embassy official told AFP.
The visit is Clinton's first to Afghanistan as secretary of state and comes with the capital locked down under tight security to prevent Taliban attacks marring the inauguration ceremony scheduled for 11:00 am (0630 GMT) Thursday.
"She arrived about 5:00 pm local time (1230 GMT)," an embassy official said.
The visit is the fourth time Clinton has been in Afghanistan.
The embassy official said she would go directly to the US embassy in central Kabul to greet about 100 staff -- Afghans and Americans -- who had gathered to welcome her.
Many of those who crowded to meet her wore US and Afghan flag pins on their lapels and carried cameras, an AFP reporter witnessed.
As well as attending Karzai's swearing-in, Clinton would "meet with Afghanistan's leadership, international partners and allies, US troops, staff in provincial reconstruction teams, and embassy staff," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said in a statement.
Clinton has been at the forefront of international pressure on Karzai to ensure his next government is clean, directly linking future levels of military and financial aid to progress in eradicating endemic official corruption.
To many Afghans, Karzai's presidency lacks legitimacy, his government lacks authority, and the way in which he took the presidency lacks credibility.
He was declared re-elected on November 2 by his own officials after massive ballot-stuffing -- mostly in Karzai's favour -- marred the August 20 election and his challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from a run-off.
Diplomats said Washington expects him to use his second term to take the helm of the war as an active and involved commander-in-chief.
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