Afghanistan unveils new cabinet, technocrats stay

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Source: reuters

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai plans to keep most of his top technocrat ministers favored by the West in a new cabinet presented to parliament on Saturday.

Western diplomats have generally welcomed the list of 23 cabinet nominees, which keeps the heads of the key interior and finance ministries unchanged along with other technocrats.

But some Afghan lawmakers and citizens who were hoping for a refreshing change in a government dogged by corruption said Karzai's lineup was a list of recycled figures that would lead to a lackluster cabinet unable to take assertive decisions.

Karzai is under intense pressure from Western countries whose funds and troops support his government to show he is serious about clamping down on corruption. They see the cabinet as the first vital test of his commitment to fighting graft.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091219/wl_nm/us_afghanistan

[dipsydoodle]

1. Any wine in it ?

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. It's for Fox news.