Obama credits Karzai with change, says more needed

[March 30, 2010]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama says Afghan's President Hamid Karzai has made progress in cleaning up corruption "but there's a long way to go."

In an interview broadcast Tuesday, Obama tells NBC's "Today" show he chose not to visit Afghanistan at the time he announced a troop surge last year because elections were under way and he didn't want to be seen as "parachuting in and changing the outcomes there." He said he visited Sunday because he wanted to show support for troops.

Obama said of Karzai: "I think he's listening, but I think the progress is too slow. What we are trying to emphasize is the fierce urgency of now." He said Karzai "made important steps" to improve life for Afghans but that we "can't dilly-dally around."

[Associated Press]

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