Karzai sworn in as leader, vows to fight graft

Karzai was sworn in as Washington decides whether to send tens of thousands more troops to fight an increasingly unpopular war. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was among foreign officials at the ceremony.

Karzai, 51, also called for a "loya jirga," a traditional grand assembly, which under Afghanistan's constitution can take precedence over all government institutions, including the presidency itself.

His inauguration for his second five-year term came against the backdrop of a rising Taliban insurgency, doubts over his legitimacy after an election tainted by fraud, and complaints his government is riddled with corruption and mismanagement.

"We are determined that by the next five years, Afghan forces are capable of taking the lead in ensuring security and stability across the country," Karzai said.

He said Afghanistan's security forces should be able to assume responsibility of unstable areas in three years.

U.S. officials say Afghan forces must be able to take over security across the country before foreign troops can leave. There are nearly 110,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including 68,000 Americans, more than half arriving this year.

Despite an announcement this week that Afghanistan would set up an anti-corruption unit, Clinton, in her first visit as secretary of state, earlier criticised Karzai for not taking enough measures to combat graft.

"They've done some work on that, but in our view, not nearly enough to demonstrate a seriousness of purpose to tackle corruption," she told reporters en route to Kabul on Wednesday.

"VERY DANGEROUS ISSUE"