Rumsfeld pledges support for training of Afghan army

Donald Rumsfeld has discussed the American role in forming and training a national Afghan army with the country's interim leader in Kabul.

The offer does not commit American troops to an international security force the Afghan government wanted.

Interim Prime Minister Hamid Karzai made the best of the plan, saying it might be better in the long run for Afghans to look after their own security.

He acknowledged he had wanted the British-led international security force in Kabul to be expanded to other parts of the country and joined by U.S. troops.

Secretary of Defence Rumsfeld, in a visit to the capital, said the French are offering to help the Americans train an Afghan force and the U.S. administration is working to get money from Congress for that task.

Later in Herat, Rumsfeld met Ismail Khan, one of western Afghanistan's most powerful warlords, and found him receptive as well to the establishment of a national army.

Khan told Rumsfeld he favoured such an army and he thought it would work, said Rumsfeld's spokeswoman, Victoria Clarke.

Sceptics say an Afghan force without international partners will be hard-pressed to maintain security over forces like Khan's.

"I would rather be inclined to see the United States train for Afghanistan a good strong army so that we can in the future fend for ourselves," Karzai said at news conference with Rumsfeld.