US President Barack Obama has said he is 'very close' to a decision on boosting troop levels in Afghanistan and would make an announcement 'in the next several weeks'.
Speaking on CNN, Mr Obama said he did not want his successor as president to inherit the Afghan conflict.
He added that his new Afghan strategy would emphasise an 'end game', ensuring US forces are not dragged into a long-term occupation against US interests.
Many Afghans say are resigned to the same daily grind of security fears and hardship after President Hamid Karzai is sworn in for a new term following his victory in a fraud-marred election.
Mr Karzai's inauguration will be held at his central Kabul palace before 300 foreign dignitaries on Thursday, but on the eve of the ceremony people on the streets of the Afghan capital were by turns sombre, angry and exasperated.
‘No one can change the fact that Karzai won the elections through fake votes and support from notorious warlords in return for ministerial and high-ranking posts,’ white-bearded Abdul Shukoor said as he entered a mosque.
‘When the government is made based on cheatings and compromises, I can guarantee you, there won't be any improvements for many years. Our sufferings will continue,’ he said.
Hamid Karzai is struggling to restore his tarnished image after a UN-backed investigation found nearly a third of the votes for him in the 20 August election were fake.
He was declared the winner after his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, quit ahead of a planned run-off citing fraud fears.
Western supporters have been pressuring President Karzai to tackle corruption and fill his cabinet with reform-minded technocrats rather than former guerrilla chiefs with questionable human rights records and cronies tainted by graft.
