Karzai inauguration

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Hamid Karzai was sworn in Thursday to begin a second term as president of Afghanistan.

During inauguration ceremonies in Kabul, Karzai said his government's ministers should be "competent and just" and set a target of having Afghan forces in control of the country's security by 2014.

Karzai was re-elected in a tainted election in which he was first declared the outright winner but then forced into a runoff when international observers voided thousands of ballots. However, his opponent, former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew from the runoff and Karzai was cleared to start a second term as president.

Key international allies sent U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, among other dignitaries, to the ceremonies. What they wanted to hear was assurances that Kabul's notoriously corrupt political system would see reform and a promise that Afghanistan would work to take over more security duties that NATO forces -- mostly U.S. military -- are trying to handle against Taliban militants.

Karzai said he would carefully look over those he considers for his Cabinet and posited that five-year goal for Afghan forces to take over security.