U.S. DEMANDS THAT KARZAI MAKE MEASURABLE REFORMS

President Obama sent his top diplomat to Afghanistan on Wednesday to press President Hamid Karzai to deliver "measurable results" on governance and corruption as the White House prepared specific new demands to accompany a U.S. troop buildup.

In an unannounced visit to Kabul, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Karzai privately that future civilian aid would depend in part on how his government performs in areas such as developing an effective army and curbing cronyism, a U.S. official said. Publicly, she said Karzai had begun to tackle corruption but "not nearly enough."

The trip, coming on the eve of Karzai's inauguration for a second term after an election marred by charges of fraud, represented part of a broader effort by Obama to tie the pending troop increase in Afghanistan to more effective efforts by its partners in the region.

The White House is developing "clear targets" for both the Afghan and Pakistani governments, possibly with specific timelines, as a way to signal that the U.S. military presence will not last indefinitely, U.S. officials said. It is not yet clear what the administration is willing to do if the targets are not met.

The officials said the administration will insist that Afghanistan fight corruption, speed up troop training and funnel development aid to areas the Taliban dominate. In Pakistan, the officials said, the White House plan would press Islamabad to keep up pressure on insurgents as well as go after militant groups that until now they have not taken on aggressively.

NEWS SERVICES