Troubled Karzai Readies Inaugural Speech

Summary

---

KABUL -- Under intense pressure to fix his corrupt government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to strike a balance in his second inaugural speech Thursday: answer international demands for reform while appeasing political allies who returned him to power.

Karzai begins a second term facing an increasingly violent insurgency, an administration crippled by corruption, high unemployment and an impoverished population frustrated by eight years of war and few, if any, improvements to their daily lives.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Troubled Karzai Readies Inaugural Speech

Having come to his second term out of a fraud-tainted election that undermined his credibility with Western powers, Karzai is be...

See the full content of this document

---