Karzai lobbies Blair on troops

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Afghanistan's interim leader Hamid Karzai appealed for an extension of the security force in Afghanistan during a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday.

Karzai held talks with Blair in London on Thursday morning, and then addressed the British Cabinet.

At a news conference after their meeting, Karzai said it was a demand of the Afghan people that the international security assistance force should be enlarged and extended to the rest of Afghanistan -- not just the capital, Kabul.

"The Afghan people really are asking for this force as a symbol of the commitment of the international community," said Karzai.

VIDEO CNN's Robin Oakley reports on interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai's visit to Britain to meet with Prime Minister Tony Blair (January 31) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   RESOURCES In-Depth: War Against Terror

Blair emphasised that Britain's role as leader of the force had a strict time limit, but he said Britain would continue to offer logistical support to any force that took over after Operation Enduring Freedom.

The force currently numbers about 2,500 troops, and Britain plans to hand over its lead role in March.

Blair also said the drugs trade and poppy cultivation must be ended, saying that 90 percent of the drugs on the streets of Britain originated in Afghanistan. Karzai said every effort would be made to eradicate the drugs trade in Afghanistan.

CNN's European Political Editor Robin Oakley said: "The key message from all of this was the repeated demands from Mr Karzai that it is the Afghan people who are demanding a bigger role in the international security force.

"They see it as the essential sign of the rest of the world's commitment not to walk away from Afghanistan after the war, but to help with the process of reconstruction."

He said the invitation to address the British Cabinet was a mark of Blair's determination to help establish Karzai on the world scene.

"This is a particular compliment. Only Bill Clinton among foreign leaders has been accorded the privilege of addressing the British Cabinet before," he said.

It was the second meeting between the two since the war against terror began and since Karzai became Afghan leader.

The two met in Afghanistan earlier this month, when Blair stopped briefly at Bagram Air Base while on a trip to the region, becoming the first Western leader to visit Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban.

During an address to the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, Karzai called for an extension and expansion of the mandate of multinational security forces in Afghanistan.

He added that Afghanistan was intent on establishing "the national institutions" that would ensure the security of Afghans.

"The extension of presence of multinational forces in Kabul and expanding their presence to other major cities will signal the ongoing commitment of international community to peace and security in Afghanistan," he said.

In a visit to Washington on Wednesday, the Afghan leader met President George W. Bush and sat in a VIP box with first lady Laura Bush during the State of the Union address. He also visited Ground Zero at the site of the World Trade Center.