Kerry presses Afghan leaders on unity; no US troop changes

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today committed to pushing reforms after his picks for attorney general and interior minister won long-sought Cabinet confirmation, while US Secretary of State John Kerry pleaded with the government's power-sharing leaders to bury their "factional divisions" for the good of the country.
Yet Ghani could not cite progress toward ending a bitter feud with Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, that has hobbled the Kabul government for 18 months.
The unwieldy arrangement, which Kerry helped to forge, has left interim ministers in critical positions while the US ally struggles to confront lawlessness, corruption and the Taliban's resilient and perhaps expanding insurgency.

"Democracy requires credible institutions," Kerry told reporters at the end of his brief stopover in Afghanistan on his way to Japan for a meeting of foreign ministers.
"More than that, it requires people from different political, ethnic and geographic factions to be able to come together and work toward a common good."
Underscoring the unstable security situation, several rounds exploded about 650 feet away from the US Embassy in Kabul after Kerry had left the premises last evening.

A US official described the explosions as small, and said there was no indication the secretary of state was the target. Local media reported no injuries.

Ghani, at a news conference, hailed the Cabinet votes in parliament as a political turning point. Progress on that front "assures us there will be fundamental, comprehensive reforms," he said through an interpreter.
Kerry backed him up and stressed the need for a unified approach between the competing Ghani and Abdullah camps, hardened still almost two years after a contested presidential election.
In the coming months, NATO and international donor summits could define long-term security and aid commitments critical to the Afghan government's survival, so Kerry sought clarity on Afghanistan's direction.
Kerry called on the Taliban to re-engage in peace talks dormant for almost a year, and said there was no change now in President Barack Obama's plans for troop levels in Afghanistan. There are 9,800 US forces on the ground in Afghanistan, and that number is set to fall to 5,500 next year.

"But he always has said he will listen to his commanders on the ground," Kerry said.
Gen John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, is reviewing needs; Kerry said that would guide Obama's final decision.
Ghani declined to weigh in on what he said was a US matter.