US signals Afghan coalition government is possible

[unhappycamper]

US signals Afghan coalition government is possible
By ANNE GEARAN and MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States built pressure on Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday, signaling that a troop increase could hinge on a successful runoff election and that the Obama administration would be receptive to a power-sharing deal between Karzai and his chief rival.

A coalition government or other political arrangement that included Karzai's rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, could provide a critical internal check on Karzai, who is widely favored to win the presidential runoff set for Nov. 7.

President Barack Obama and Sen. John Kerry, who pressed the administration's interests in weekend talks with Karzai in Kabul, both hinted Wednesday that pending deliberations on possible U.S. troop increases in Afghanistan could be affected by the Afghan leader's behavior.

Karzai's weak and corruption-riddled government has been blamed in part for the resurgence of the Taliban and for widespread Afghan civilian disillusionment. The Afghan national election in August was marred by massive fraud that led to the discarding of a third of the results, providing a wedge for the U.S. to press Karzai to agree to the runoff with Abdullah.

Kerry, whose meetings with Karzai helped lead to the runoff agreement over the weekend, said Wednesday after a White House session with Obama that the president should wait until after new election to make his decision on troop strength.


Rest of article at: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_US_AFGHANISTAN?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2009-10-22-02-30-29