Hillary Clinton raps coalition during Afghanistan-Iraq tour

HILLARY CLINTON was in Afghanistan yesterday to visit troops who have been stationed in the country since the toppling of the Taliban regime.

The New York Senator, and wife of former President Bill Clinton, was spending the US Thanksgiving holiday in Afghanistan before travelling to Iraq.

The visit comes after Mrs Clinton criticised the handling of post-war Iraq by the US-led coalition.

The high-profile tour also comes amid new hints by the former First Lady that she may make her own presidential bid in 2008.

Mrs Clinton was travelling with former US Army paratrooper turned Rhode Island Senator, Jack Reed, but exact details of the trip were being kept secret due to security concerns.

Democrat Mrs Clinton, a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, has concerns about the effort to win public support among Iraqis for the occupying coalition.

She said she was "amazed and disappointed" by the efforts to win the "hearts and minds" of Iraqi people following the ousting of Saddam She said the current administration in Washington was "run by people who have been obsessed with Saddam Hussein for more than a decade".

"And the fact that they could have been so poorly informed and prepared raises a lot of serious questions about the decisions they are making now," she added.

During her time in Afghanistan Mrs Clinton will meet members of the 10th Mountain Division, which suffered casualties last weekend when an Army transport helicopter crashed near Bagram Air Base. "I'm still very worried about Afghanistan ... The Taliban and al Qaida are clearly making a comeback," said Mrs Clinton. She will also meet groups of female politicians and press for them to have greater involvement in the development of both countries.

Mrs Clinton has repeatedly ruled out running in next year's presidential race, but yesterday she fuelled speculation that she would throw her hat into the ring in 2008.

She told German magazine Bunte she would first complete her current term as New York Senator.

But when told people would be disappointed by that, she said: "I know. Well, perhaps I'll do it next time around."