In nod to U.S., Karzai to keep current ministers in top cabinet jobs

According to two members of parliament who said they had a list of appointees, Karzai will retain the heads of high-profile ministries including Defense and Interior, who are well-regarded in Washington as experienced professionals. About half the members of the current 25-member cabinet will keep their jobs, said the lawmakers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because Karzai is expected to name his new government Saturday.

U.S. officials said they had not yet been officially informed of Karzai's selections, and one stressed that "we don't dictate the ministries." But the administration had made clear that selection of the new cabinet would be seen as a crucial test of Karzai's commitment to curtailing the rampant graft and cronyism that have tainted his government for years.

In addition to Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and Interior Minister Hanif Atmar, the ministers of agriculture, finance, intelligence and education are to remain in office. All of them were given a U.S. stamp of approval by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton when she attended Karzai's inauguration here last month.

But analysts say Karzai, who won reelection after a fraud-marred vote, also made promises to the warlords and tribal leaders who backed his campaign and expected government positions in return. A U.S. official said the administration anticipated that some "lower-tier" ministers that "we don't work with" would remain in office, including Energy Minister Ismail Khan. Khan's likely retention was "disappointing," the official said, "but we knew it was coming."

The cabinet appointees need the approval of parliament. Both lawmakers who viewed the list said they expected fierce debate over some names, and one said some positions were still shifting Friday because appointees had declined.

Karzai plans to replace at least one cabinet member who has been accused of corruption. The reform-minded minister of commerce will take over the Ministry of Mines from Mohammad Ibrahim Adel, whom U.S. officials have accused of taking a $30 million bribe in connection with a major development project.

The new names on the cabinet list include several relatively unknown figures in less influential jobs, and one parliament member said some were associates of some of the power brokers who supported Karzai's reelection. Despite U.S. hopes that the government would include opposition figures, initial reports indicated that no senior positions were given to supporters of Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's main rival in the presidential race.

The identity of Afghanistan's top diplomat remained in doubt Friday. One lawmaker said Karzai plans to keep Foreign Minister Rangin Spanta in his position until an international conference on Afghanistan to be held in London next month, then replace him. The lawmaker said that is because Karzai knew that parliament members would reject Spanta, whom they attempted to dismiss through a no-confidence vote in 2007.

Staff writer Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report.