Afghan President Hamid Karzai (left) takes the presidential oath beside Afghanistan's Chief Justice Abdul Salam Azimi during his inauguration as president of Afghanistan at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Thursday.
Associated Press
KABUL -- For his critics, President Hamid Karzai's inaugural speech Thursday struck all the right notes -- sober pledges to get tough on corruption and strengthen his own security forces so foreign troops can start going home. The question now is whether he has the will and ability to deliver.
As he embarks on his second five-year term, Karzai faces a virulent Taliban insurgency and crippling corruption that has sown resentment among Afghans toward his administration -- and toward the Western powers that have supported it for eight years.
The West, too, has become resentful, with questions increasingly raised back home why the roughly 103,000 U.S. and other NATO-led troops in Afghanistan are being asked to die for a corrupt and inefficient government. Such concerns are central to the debate inside the Obama administration, which is considering military proposals to send 10,000 to 40,000 additional troops to Afghanistan next year.
A subdued Karzai, in his traditional green-striped robe, stayed close to his written text -- a departure from his usually relaxed and extemporaneous style. There was none of the excitement and anticipation of his first inauguration in 2004, when hopes were high that Afghanistan had finally turned a corner.
Dignitaries from across Afghanistan and the world listened intently for the promises of crucial reforms. And Karzai delivered -- at least in words.
"We have to learn from the mistakes and shortcomings of the past eight years," he said. "It is through this self-evaluation that we can better respond to the aspirations and expectations of our people."
Western criticisms had been unusually harsh -- and public -- leading up to his inauguration, particularly after an election so marred by fraud that it took nearly three months to produce a result. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who dined with Karzai on the eve of the ceremony, had warned that U.S. military and financial support would dry up without reforms.
Speaking after the ceremony, Clinton praised Karzai's plans to fight corruption -- but also said attention would now turn to his actions.
"He could have been very vague and talked about how we're all against it and all want to end it but he was much more specific," she said. "And we're going to, along with the people of Afghanistan, watch very carefully to see how that's implemented."
