Karzai declared winner by default

KABUL — Hamid Karzai was declared the winner by default Monday in Afghanistan's fraud-marred presidential election, increasing the pressure on President Obama to announce contemplated changes in U.S. policy at a time when a scaled-down version of his commander's ambitious plans is gaining support.

Obama welcomed Karzai's election with as much admonishment as praise, saying he expects a more serious effort to end corruption in his government and to ready his nation to defend itself when international troops ultimately withdraw.

"I emphasized that this has to be a point in time in which we begin to write a new chapter," Obama said in describing his congratulatory phone call to Karzai. Afghan politicians with ties to Karzai said they expected him to try to restore credibility abroad by offering Cabinet posts to supporters of his chief rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah.

Karzai was declared the winner one day after Abdullah dropped out of the scheduled Nov. 7 runoff called after allegations of fraud in the August election. Abdullah said the election would not have been fair and accused the Karzai-appointed Independent Election Commission of bias.

Obama's words appeared to be a sharp warning to Karzai that the American public would not support a significant increase in resources unless it is satisfied that a credible Afghan government is fully committed to tackle the problems of corruption and bad governance that have swelled insurgent ranks.

Public support for the war is already dropping in the U.S. and other countries with troops in Afghanistan.

The election now decided, House Republican leader Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Obama has no reason to wait any longer to decide whether to accept recommendations by his top commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, for up to 80,000 more troops.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged that Karzai's win is a factor in the coming decision but did not say the timetable for a decision has changed.

"I think the decision ... still will be made in the coming weeks," Gibbs said.

Obama is considering several options to increase the number of troops fighting in Afghanistan, including McChrystal's preference of about 40,000 additional U.S. forces next year. U.S. officials have told The Associated Press that a scaled-down version of that request is gaining favor but that no final decision has been made.

In the capital, Kabul, a sense of relief was instant and palpable. Residents honked horns and exchanged celebratory text messages as the news spread. But despite calls for calm by Abdullah, there were fears that opposition supporters might cause violent unrest.

In a potentially worrisome development Monday evening, Abdurrashid Dostum, a former ethnic Uzbek militia leader and political ally of Karzai who has a long track record of human-rights abuses, arrived in Kabul airport. Dostum, who has been living in exile in Turkey, is a longtime rival of a northern strongman who backed Abdullah.

Supporters of Dostum in northern Faryab province, reached by phone Monday night, said they expected him to visit there to rouse support in case of violence from followers of Attah Mohammed, the governor of nearby Balkh province.

Mohammed, who abandoned Karzai to back Abdullah, is a former militia leader and longtime rival of Dostum; the two camps have at times fought bloody battles. Mohammed has said he will not recognize a new Karzai government.

During the campaign, Karzai rejected calls for a coalition but said he would support a "government of national unity," in effect giving former opponents state jobs or Cabinet posts but subordinate to him. Many of Karzai's fellow ethnic Pashtun supporters don't want to see him hand over too much power to Abdullah's mostly Tajik followers.

Opposition to formal coalition government runs deep among Afghans, who associate the term with the chaotic alliance of armed factions that tried to rule after the collapse of the pro-Soviet regime in 1992. The alliance broke apart, triggering a civil war that destroyed much of Kabul and paved the way for the rise of the Taliban.