Obama and Karzai dismiss tension over Afghan war

WASHINGTON - The war in Afghanistan will get worse before it gets better, President Barack Obama warned Wednesday, but he said his plan to begin withdrawing U.S. forces next year remains on track.

Standing alongside Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Obama said, "What I've tried to emphasize is the fact that there is going to be some hard fighting over the next several months."

The two leaders spoke at a White House news conference as U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan prepare to push hard into the Taliban's birthplace in Kandahar province in June. The campaign for Kandahar, already under way in districts outside the city, is expected to be among the bloodiest of the nearly 9-year-old war.

"There is no denying the progress," Obama said. "Nor, however, can we deny the very serious challenges still facing Afghanistan."

Karzai's warm welcome followed months of sniping and frustration over management of the war and about fraud allegations surrounding Karzai's re-election last year.

"There are moments when we speak frankly to each other, and that frankness will only contribute to the strength of the relationship," Karzai said.

The United States has taken "extraordinary measures" to avoid civilian deaths, Obama said, a nod to Karzai's loud complaints last year that U.S. airstrikes were killing innocents and making enemies of those who might be friends. "I do not want civilians killed," Obama said, adding that he is ultimately accountable when they are.

Heavy restrictions on when U.S. warplanes can fire at suspected militants are among the changes to war policy installed by the general Obama sent last year to turn the war around.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, facing Obama and Karzai in the front row yesterday, has said he is willing to let a few killers slip away if it means saving civilian lives. Insurgents often hide among civilians, taking over homes or using refuge provided willingly by sympathizers.

Obama accepted McChrystal's argument that, either way, killing the other people in a house only breeds resentment and makes it harder to argue that the U.S.-backed government in Kabul is on their side.

"After all it's the Afghan people we are working to protect from the Taliban," Obama said.