Interim Afghan Leader Arrives in Washington

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 28, 2002

Interim Afghan Leader Arrives in Washington

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Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai arrived in Washington Sunday for a state visit in which he is expected to urge the Bush adminstration to enlarge significantly the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan.

Under current plans, the United Nations force is to peak at 4,500 in mid-February and is authorized to remain for six months. The force is to be largely confined to the Afghan capital of Kabul.

Karzai and several members of his Cabinet, however, have endorsed a proposal by U.N. officials to increase the force to 30,000, including participation by U.S. troops.

Bush administration officials previously have ruled out U.S. troops serving in a multinational force and have taken no position on expanding the peacekeeping force with soldiers from other nations.

Concerns about the current force center on a lack of security and stability outside Kabul. Afghan officials report problems with battling warlords, fugitive Taliban members and raids on humanitarian supplies.

Karzai's U.S. visit, his first since assuming the leadership of Afghanistan's new government last month, will include a White House meeting with President Bush today.

U.S. officials say they will stress to Karzai the importance of smooth and appropriate distribution of the roughly $1 billion in international aid that will pour into Afghanistan this year. The U.S. contribution is about $300 million.

White House officials say Bush is all but certain to include Karzai as one of his guests during Tuesday's State of the Union address.

Karzai is expected in New York on Wednesday for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council and to pay his respects at the site of the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

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