Afghan president sworn in to second 5-year term
By The Associated Press
This article was published November 19, 2009 at 7:46 a.m.
PHOTO BY AP / MUSADEQ SADEQ
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, third left, inspects guard of honor during his inauguration as President of Afghanistan at the Presidential Palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan will control its own security within five years and prosecute corrupt officials, President Hamid Karzai pledged Thursday in an inauguration speech made under intense pressure to shed the cronyism and graft that marked his government’s first term.
As Karzai vowed to make the country safer, an explosion in violent southern Afghanistan killed two U.S. service members, NATO said. Jilani Farahe, deputy chief of police for Zabul province said the blast was caused by a suicide car bomber detonating his explosives near the gate of a NATO base. He said no civilians had been hurt.
During his speech, Karzai also said he wanted private Afghan and foreign security companies to stop operating in the country within two years.
“We are determined that by the next five years, the Afghan forces are capable of taking the lead in ensuring security and stability across the country,” with foreign troops only responsible for support and training, he said.
Karzai said nobody was above the law and promised to go after corrupt officials.
His government, he said, “is committed to end the culture of impunity and violation of law and bring to justice those involved in spreading corruption and abuse of public property.”
Karzai won this year’s fraud-marred presidential election after his main rival, Abdullah Abdullah, pulled out of a runoff, saying it was impossible for the vote to be fair.
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