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WASHINGTON (PAN): Obama's Administration Tuesday indicated it would hold on the new Afghan policy until a new government takes over in Kabul, while one of its top officials said the White House is willing to work with Hamid Karzai, if he is declared reelected.

We are not going to make any decisions of any significance until we know the outcome of this election, because we have to know who our counterparts are and we have to make it clear that in return for X, we expect Y, the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the PBS news channel in an interview, which was dominated by the issues related to Afghanistan.

In another interview to CNN, the Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, said the Obama Administration has no problem in working with Karzai and is looking forward to working with him.

If Karzai is determined to be re-elected by the independent election commission, as reviewed by the election complaints commission, if that's the outcome, we are more than prepared to work with him. We will be looking forward to working with him again, Holbrooke said.

We respect the process. We don't have a candidate. We support a process which creates legitimacy. And if that results in Hamid Karzai, we're fine with that, he said.

Referring to the differences with Karzai as reported in various media outlets in the US, he said: I think these are much exaggerated by journalists. We have honest, frank talks, as befits a representative of a country which has 68,000 troops at risk and the president of a country. And that's how it should be.

Noting that they both speak frankly and honestly to each other, he said: I have great respect for him and his leadership, as does Ambassador Eikenberry, as does the whole administration, as Secretary Clinton, and we will work with him after the election, if that's the outcome.

In her CNN interview, Clinton reiterated that the Obama Administration has a clear and critical objective of trying to disrupt and dismantle and defeat al-Qaida and their extremist allies and prevent a return to safe havens.

And every piece of this has to fit together. We dont even know yet who will be the president of Afghanistan. So its not in any way to say that what General McChrystal, based on his expertise, is presenting or asking for is not important. Its critically important, but its a part of the overall process. And there are many other considerations that we have to take into account, she said.

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