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Obama, Karzai talk terror
20/07/2008 18:13 - (SA)
Kabul - US presidential contender Barack Obama pledged steadfast aid to Afghanistan in talks with its Western-backed leader on Sunday and vowed to pursue the war on terror "with vigour" if he is elected, an Afghan official said.
On the third day of an international tour designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials, Obama and other American senators held two hours of talks with President Hamid Karzai at his palace in the Afghan capital.
Obama has chided Karzai for not doing more to build confidence in the Afghan government, whose grip remains weak nearly seven years after the ouster of the Taliban.
US Embassy spokesperson Mark Stroh said the senators discussed the painstaking rebuilding of the country's government and economy, the security situation and corruption with Karzai.
The Afghan presidency said Obama's message was positive.
"Senator Obama conveyed ... that he is committed to supporting Afghanistan and to continue the war against terrorism with vigour," said Humayun Hamidzada, Karzai's spokesperson.
Both Democrats and Republicans "are friends of Afghanistan and no matter who wins the US elections, Afghanistan will have a very strong partner in the United States," Hamidzada said.
Obama, the presumed Democratic candidate for the US election in November, has made Afghanistan a centrepiece of his proposed strategy for dealing with terrorism threats.
He has said the war in Afghanistan, where Taliban and al-Qaeda-linked militants are resurgent, deserves more troops and more attention as opposed to the conflict in Iraq.
- AP
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US Elections Special Report
