Clinton Urges Afghanistan to Fight Corruption

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says Afghan President Hamid Karzai must "root out corruption."

She says any commitment from the United States, Germany or other allies to help stabilize Afghanistan must be met by an even higher level of commitment from Mr. Karzai's new government to begin addressing corruption.

Clinton commented Monday from Berlin, Germany, where she joined world leaders to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

She also said allies planned to present Mr. Karzai's government with a "clear set of expectations" and "accountability measures."

On Saturday, Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry rejected comments from a U.N. special representative who warned that President Karzai needed to fight corruption or risk losing international support.

The Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Kai Eide had "exceeded his authority as a representative of an impartial international organization."

Last week, Eide said the Afghan government had been allowing "warlords and power-brokers" to "play their own games."

Also, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued one of his strongest warnings to Mr. Karzai, saying British military support was dependent on the Afghan leader's ability to combat corruption.


Some information for this report was provided by AFP.