In many ways, Karzai's words dovetailed precisely with the aims of the Obama administration. Both countries want to reduce the presence of foreign troops on the battlefield and in the prison system. And both now concede that bribery and misspent funding are among the most serious obstacles to progress in Afghanistan.

But many here doubt whether the goals can be achieved as the Taliban gains strength, and there has been little action to date in stemming corruption.

The electoral process itself left little reason for optimism. Karzai initially had a majority of the votes in the Aug. 20 election, but widespread ballot-stuffing erased his lead and set up a second round. His challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the race in protest that the system that allowed the initial fraud had not been reformed.

"I don't think Karzai will be able to do the things he says. Afghans do not trust him anymore," said Hamidullah Tokhi, a parliament member from Zabul province. In a 30-minute speech in the presidential palace, Karzai repeated many of his themes from the campaign. He said reconciliation with the Taliban would be his top priority. He invited fighters to lay down their arms and said he would convene a council of Afghan leaders to try to reach peace through negotiation.

"To put an end to the three decades of war is what most Afghans want," he said, adding that "peace and security cannot be achieved only militarily."

But Afghan-led efforts at dialogue with insurgents have achieved little so far, and experts say funds devoted to encouraging fighters to give up their cause have been squandered.

Karzai spoke in front of about 800 people, including foreign dignitaries such as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

In addition to calling for Afghan forces to take over from NATO troops within five years, Karzai said he wanted private security companies to cease all operations within two years and Afghans to control their own detention system.

"Afghans want to take the lead on security and no longer depend on foreign forces," Interior Minister Hanif Atmar said. "It is our strong commitment that we have to grow our own national security forces to defend our country."

After Karzai took the oath of office and kissed the Quran, his two vice presidents, Mohammed Fahim and Karim Khalili, were sworn in.

Clinton, in her first trip to Afghanistan as secretary of state, described Karzai's goals as ambitious but worthy.

"We want to assist him and the military and police leadership in Afghanistan to move as quickly as they can, to stand up and deploy a professional, motivated, effective force," she said at a news conference. "We're going to work with the president to try to work toward the goal he set."

U.S. officials seemed more enthusiastic about Karzai's statements on corruption, including his vow to push for a law requiring all senior officials to declare their property and assets. He promised to convene a conference to generate ideas for fighting corruption and said his new cabinet would include "expert ministers" who could lead with integrity.

"The government of Afghanistan is committed to end the culture of impunity and violation of law and bring to justice those involved in spreading corruption and abuse of public property," Karzai said.

Clinton said she was pleased with the level of detail in Karzai's speech about steps to tackle corruption. "We think that the issue now is to ensure that it is implemented, that we see results," she said.

Before returning to Washington, Clinton later sidestepped a direct question about the role of Afghan warlords in Karzai's new government by saying that the Obama administration expects to see "an effective government that respects the rights of the people."

"Setbacks are inevitable, and we have to be realistic about what we can accomplish, but we are also clear-eyed about the stakes."

As evidence of that, two U.S. service members were killed in a bombing in southern Afghanistan yesterday, and a suicide bomber detonated in a market in Uruzgan province, killing at least 10 people, officials said.

The push for political reform in Kabul comes at a decisive time in the Obama administration's debate over whether the United States should send more troops to Afghanistan, and if so, how many. A decision on how to proceed in the war is expected after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Back-to-Back Blasts Kill 21

An explosion early today killed two Pakistani police officers, one day after a suicide blast left 19 people dead outside a courthouse in northwestern Pakistan.

The attacks were the latest in an onslaught by Islamist extremists retaliating against an army offensive near the Afghan border.

The bombings brought to eight the number of extremist attacks in less than two weeks in and around Peshawar, the main gateway to the al-Qaeda and Taliban region. The attacks have killed more than 80 people.

Since the beginning of October, more than 400 people have been killed in bombings and raids, most of them in the northwest.

The army launched its offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in South Waziristan in mid-October. It has retaken many towns in the region, but extremists say they avoided fighting but will now begin a guerrilla campaign.

- Associated Press