Obama tells Karzai: US will continue war against terrorism with vigor

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US presidential contender Barack Obama pledged steadfast aid to Afghanistan in talks with its Western-backed leader Sunday and vowed to pursue the war on terror "with vigor" if he is elected, an Afghan official said. On the third day of an international tour designed to burnish his foreign policy credentials, Obama and other American senators held two hours of talks with President Hamid Karzai at his palace in the Afghan capital. Obama has chided Karzai for not doing more to build confidence in the Afghan government, whose grip remains weak nearly seven years after the ouster of the Taliban. US Embassy spokesman Mark Stroh said the senators discussed the painstaking rebuilding of the country's government and economy, the security situation and corruption with Karzai.