US will keep pushing Afghan govt reform: Clinton

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stressed that the United States will keep pressing the Afghan government to crack down on rampant corruption, saying the American military cannot defeat militancy without the help of a strong partner.

Clinton arrived in the Afghan capital on the eve of President Hamid Karzai's inauguration today, during which he will make a speech that many hope will outline concrete commitments to reform, helping the country move past a fraud-tainted election that undermined trust in the government.

"We are concerned about corruption, and we obviously think it has an impact on the quality and capacity of governing," Clinton told reporters yesterday as she flew from Beijing to Kabul, her first trip to the country as secretary of state.

"So we're going to be persistent, asking for the kinds of outcomes that we think reflect that they are serious about this." Karzai, who won the election by default after his main rival pulled out of a runoff saying it was impossible for the vote to be fair, has often bristled at the intense international pressure he has come under over corruption in his government.

Although he acknowledges his administration faces problems, he has stressed that graft is also pervasive in the international contracting process in Afghanistan and that foreign aid is being wasted before it ever gets to the Afghan people.