Karzia declared winner; Obama tells him to live up to expectations

KABUL -- Hamid Karzai was declared the winner by default yesterday in Afghanistan's fraud-marred presidential election, increasing the pressure on President Barack Obama to end his deliberations over whether to send more troops.

Obama welcomed Karzai's election with as much admonishment as praise, telling America's partner in war that he expects a more serious effort to end corruption in his government and prepare his nation to defend itself when international troops ultimately withdraw.

"I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter," Obama said of his phone call to Karzai. The U.S. president said that when Karzai offered back assurances, Obama told him that "the proof is not going to be in words. It's going to be in deeds."

But Obama's words appeared to be a sharp warning to Karzai that the American public would not support a significant increase in resources unless it is satisfied that a credible Afghan government is fully committed to tackle the problems of corruption and bad governance which have swelled insurgent ranks.

The messy end to the election left the United States and its partners with the difficult task of helping the Karzai government restore legitimacy both at home and abroad. Public support for the war is already dropping in the U.S. and other countries with troops in Afghanistan. The image of a fraud-stained Afghan partner does little to reverse the slide.

Afghan politicians with ties to Karzai said they expected him to try to restore credibility abroad by offering Cabinet posts to supporters of his chief rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

Karzai was declared the winner one day after Abdullah dropped out of the scheduled Nov. 7 runoff. Abdullah said the election would not have been fair and accused the Karzai-appointed Independent Election Commission of bias.

The election now decided, House Republican leader Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama has no reason to wait any longer to decide whether to accept recommendations by his top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for more troops.

"The White House has no further pretext for delaying the decision on giving General McChrystal the resources he needs," Boehner said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged that Karzai's win is a factor in the coming decision but did not say the timetable for an announcement has changed. "I think the decision . . . still will be made in the coming weeks," Gibbs said.

Obama is considering several options to increase the number of troops fighting in Afghanistan, including Gen. Stanley McChrystal's preference of about 40,000 additional U.S. forces next year. U.S. officials have told The Associated Press that a scaled-down version of that request is gaining favor but that no final decision has been made. About 68,000 U.S. troops will be in Afghanistan by the end of this year.

Adding fewer forces than McChrystal really wants at the outset could give the administration additional flexibility later, officials have said. The option carries political risks, however, because the White House may be vulnerable to criticism that it is undercutting U.S. troops.

An Afghan close to Karzai said the president is under strong international pressure to include Abdullah supporters and others from outside his campaign in the new government.

Karzai turned down a power-sharing deal offered on the eve of Abdullah's announcement, according to Western diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the talks.

Nevertheless, several Afghan politicians with ties to Karzai said they expect him to offer some Cabinet posts to Abdullah's supporters and perhaps even to Abdullah.

However, many of Karzai's fellow ethnic Pashtun supporters don't want to see him hand over too much power to Abdullah's mostly Tajik followers.

"He should not let Abdullah dictate demands," said Bismillah Afghan Mul, a member of the provincial council in Karzai's home province of Kandahar. "Karzai should have Abdullah in his Cabinet for the sake of national unity, but he shouldn't give him whatever he wants."