Afghan Leader Says Stability Is His Nation's First Priority

Widespread Concerns Unlikely to Derail Karzai's Election Bid

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 7 -- President Hamid Karzai is the public face of Afghanistan's troubled transition to democracy, the head of a weak civilian government in a country long controlled by gunmen, the recipient of American support in a society ambivalent toward the United States.

Yet barring an unforeseen or calamitous turn of events, Karzai likely will be elected to a five-year presidential term in late September. The 47-year-old Afghan leader arrives in the United States on Tuesday to begin a two-week international tour that he hopes will serve as a high-profile curtain raiser for his campaign back home.

Since he was installed as Afghanistan's interim leader following the U.S.-led ouster of Islamic Taliban rule in late 2001, Karzai has been belittled as an American puppet, an indecisive leader and a hypocrite who touts democratic ideals while making backroom deals to cling to power. But he prefers to describe himself as a realist who puts the need to pacify his jittery postwar nation before all other goals.

In an interview Sunday on the lawn of his official residence, Karzai outlined his concerns and aspirations for the country, making clear his position that establishing a strong and stable government is a higher priority than building an instant or perfect democracy.

"The Afghan people want elections, and they want stability," he said. "Are they compatible? If there is a choice between bringing peace and security, and holding competitive elections, we must decide very carefully."

U.N. officials and other foreign observers here have expressed increasing concerns that slow and regionally lopsided voter registration, delays in disarming regional militias and mounting Islamic militia attacks could undermine the credibility and security of the elections. But Karzai has said repeatedly that the vote, already delayed by three months, cannot be allowed to slip again.

Many Afghans say they believe Karzai is under U.S. pressure to hold elections soon to provide President Bush with a foreign policy success and bolster his reelection chances. Karzai will travel to Georgia and California this week, then visit the White House and address a joint meeting of Congress on June 15.

In the interview, however, Karzai said the Afghan public was clamoring for the right to choose its leaders, but he also said his victory at the polls would help strengthen the weak central government and maintain the momentum of national reconstruction.

"The Afghan people have suffered for years. We must provide them the opportunity to vote for and create a more legitimate government than we have today," he said. "I want to be more legitimate than I am today."

Yet Karzai, who lives in a heavily guarded residential compound with deer, fruit trees and tennis courts, also suggested he had acquired no love for the trappings of power, saying he is "embarrassed by the pomp" and dreams of retiring to a quiet garden spot in his native southern province of Kandahar.

Last week, Karzai said he was stung by American columnist Robert Novak's description of him as "hopelessly corrupt." In the interview he defended his personal honesty and said he had been frustrated in attempts to attack corruption, especially because Afghan public institutions are weak and the reach of the central government is extremely limited.

"I know there is serious corruption, but somehow I cannot grab it; it is a mirage," Karzai said. He said he intends to create a special corruption court, and he vowed to publicly denounce and prosecute any official found to be corrupt, no matter how highly placed.

As for himself, the president quoted a proverb in the Pashto language: "A person who is naked is not afraid of water." Even if senior officials were to be drenched by scandal, he added, "I would not get wet."

Another major issue that concerns Afghans is intimidation and abuse by gunmen, who have controlled much of the country for years. An internationally backed program to disarm and demobilize about 50,000 fighters before elections has met with resistance from senior militia leaders.