Brown to signal tougher stance on Afghan Leader

ENGLAND: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will signal a tougher stance towards Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday, saying international support for him depends on progress on security and fighting corruption.

In a speech later on Friday, Brown will also defend Britain's strategy in Afghanistan after the killing of five British soldiers by an Afghan policeman this week led to calls at home for Britain to pull out its 9,000 troops.

Public support for the war in Britain has been eroded by rising military losses 229 British soldiers have now died there since 2001 and by the controversy over Karzai's re-election after a vote tainted by fraud.

Continuing loss of British lives in Afghanistan could damage Brown's Labour Party in an election he must call by next June and which the opposition Conservatives are favourites to win.

In the speech, Brown will attempt to reassure critics that he will demand progress from Karzai against key benchmarks.

"He (Karzai) needs a contract with the Afghan people; a contract against which Afghans, as well as the international community, can judge his success," he will say, according to excerpts of his speech released in advance.

"International support depends on the scale of his ambition and the degree of his achievement in five key areas: security, governance, reconciliation, economic development and engagement with Afghanistan's neighbours," he will say. LONDON, Friday, Reuters