U.S. urges Karzai to make corruption arrests
WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The United States wants Afghan President Hamid Karzai to take concrete steps such as arresting and prosecuting corrupt government officials to shore up his legitimacy, a top U.S. military official said on Wednesday, suggesting such steps were key to a troop increase.
"He's got to take concrete steps to eliminate corruption," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said. "That means that you have to rid yourself of those who are corrupt, you have to actually arrest and prosecute them. You have to show those visible signs.
"If we don't get a level of legitimacy and governance, then all the troops in the world aren't going to make any difference," he said.
(Reporting by Adam Entous; editing by Bill Trott)
"He's got to take concrete steps to eliminate corruption," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said. "That means that you have to rid yourself of those who are corrupt, you have to actually arrest and prosecute them. You have to show those visible signs.
"If we don't get a level of legitimacy and governance, then all the troops in the world aren't going to make any difference," he said.
(Reporting by Adam Entous; editing by Bill Trott)
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