Video: U.S. pressures Karzai over corruption

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   >>> on the president's mind during this trip is the big decision on the way to go forward on the war in afghanistan . so much of that depends on the readiness and willingness of afghanistan itself. our chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in kabul tonight with a status report.

   >> reporter: as u.s. troops continue their mission to fight the taliban, today u.s. commanding general stanley mcchrystal praised the afghan security forces .

   >> today afghanistan takes a small but important step on the path to insuring its own security.

   >> reporter: the ceremony was held to mark the donation of two american c-27 cargo planes to the afghan military . but there was no talk of the debate raging in washington over troop levels. u.s. troops here are effectively in limbo, waiting for the white house to decide if it will send reinforcements and how many. but analysts here suggest the delay in making that decision is also a tactic to pressure president hamid karzai . president karzai wants the reinforcements, needs their support, but the u.s. message to him has been he won't get it unless afghanistan first cleans up its government. today hillary clinton spoke on "meet the press".

   >> we're going to expect more from the afghan government going forward. and we have got some very specific asks that we will be making.

   >> reporter: the timing is critical. president karzai 's inauguration is this week. he's now choosing his cabinet. and if it is corrupt, experts say the u.s. war plan may fail. the plan is based on strengthening the credibility of the afghan government , but so far karzai has shown few signs he will or can fight corruption. karzai only scraped by this summer's election, his hands may be tied.

   >> during the campaign season, president karzai made a number of promises to corrupt individuals, to nefarious people with sordid pasts and the likes and promised them positions of power. if he's going to repay them, and keep them in his government, then it seems unlikely that the government is going to be able to fight corruption that much.

   >> reporter: as u.s. officials are now making it clear that success in the war here may depend as much on governance as the number of troops on the ground. richard engel , nbc news, kabul.

   >>> politics at home tonight . when

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