Bush to welcome Karzai on September 26

President Bush will host Afghanistan President on Sep 26 for talks amid tensions with Pakistan over cross-border violence.

WASHINGTON: US President George W Bush will host President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on September 26 for talks on the war amid tensions with Pakistan over cross-border violence, the White House said on Friday.

Bush "looks forward to discussing with President Karzai the state of the international community's efforts to improve security, governance, and reconstruction in Afghanistan," spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement.

The talks -- their first since a May meeting in Egypt -- will come after the US president attends his final UN General Assembly before leaving office in January 2009.

"This meeting provides President Bush and President Karzai the opportunity to discuss security, the expansion of the Afghan National Army, the upcoming Strategic Partnership talks, and the implementation of political and economic reforms," said Perino.

It also comes amid tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which accuses its neighbor of tolerating extremists who cross the border to attack US- and NATO-led forces as well as Afghan targets.

And Bush recently announced that he was increasing the number of US troops in Afghanistan because of concerns over the war with the Islamist Taliban militia and their Al-Qaeda terrorist allies.
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There are about 70,000 international forces deployed under NATO and a separate US-led coalition in Afghanistan in an effort to help local forces repel the Islamist rebels.

US Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen warned on Wednesday that time was running out to defeat the intensifying insurgency there and said he was "not convinced we're winning."
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