Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, whose fragile government is propped up by more than 100,000 foreign troops, said Friday he does not need “the favor” of the international community. The US and NATO have 113,000 troops fighting a Taliban insurgency trying to topple Karzai and destabilize the war-torn, impoverished and corrupt country. With more than 500 international troop deaths in 2009, the war is becoming more deadly for foreign and Afghan troops alike as it drags into its ninth year since the regime was toppled in 2001. Diplomats in Kabul say without the Western military presence, Karzai's government would soon collapse as the Taliban is spreading its footprint across the country and setting up shadow administrative and judicial systems. While being propped up by Western forces, set to rise this year to 150,000, and billions of dollars in annual aid, Karzai told Al-Jazeera Television his job is “to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.” “I have to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people, I have to be legitimate and have the trust of the Afghan people if I am to be a good president,” Karzai said. “The legitimacy of my government has to be given by the Afghan people. With the international community, I don't have to have their favor. They are here for a purpose, which is the fight on terror, and we are working with them for a purpose, which is the stability and safety of Afghanistan, so we have a common purpose.” Karzai began a second five-year term in November after being declared the winner of an August president poll that descended into a ballot-stuffing farce, with investigators finding that about a million votes for Karzai were fake. In the interview, he said Afghanistan is “a good model” of democracy and has “done well” in education and economy – despite the fact that millions of children do not go to school, extremists' intimidation limits girls' education and the economy is based principally on the illegal poppy trade. Roadside bombs kill 9 Roadside bombs have killed eight Afghan soldiers and a US service member in separate incidents in Afghanistan, officials said Friday. NATO confirmed the American died Thursday in eastern Afghanistan, but provided no other details. Also Thursday, an Afghan army vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Uruzgan province in central Afghanistan. Army commander Abdul Hamid said eight soldiers who were inside the vehicle were killed as they were returning from the provincial capital of Tarin Kot.
