The Obama administration’s coordinator of policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke said he is hopeful that the November 7, 2009  election will not see a repeat of the widespread fraud that caused a U.N.-backed election investigation to throw out nearly one-third of the votes cast for Karzai in the August 20, 2009 balloting. That pushed Karzai below the 50 percent mark he needed to avoid a runoff.

Holbrooke said:

It is reasonable to hope that there will be less irregularities this time for several reasons. Three, the international community, including the forces under Gen. (Stanley) McChrystal’s command, are going to go all-out to help make this a success.

In his remarks at the State Department, Richard Holbrooke also sought to dispel suggestions that his relations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai are so bad that he is unable to work with the Afghan leader.

In terms of my relationships with President Karzai, they’re fine. They’re correct. They’re appropriate. I speak to him on behalf of my government, and he speaks as president of the country. I respect him. And if he is re-elected as president on November 7, we all look forward to working closely with him in pursuit of mutual goals.

I am seeing Karzai in a few days and I have absolutely no problems with him. And it’s as simple as that.

The Obama administration is counting on the November 7, 2009 vote being held in a way that Afghans and the international community see as legitimate. An outcome short of that is likely to raise further doubts about the wisdom of investing more U.S. troops and other resources in a counterinsurgency campaign in Afghanistan. A key pillar of that campaign is an Afghan government that is a credible partner of the U.S. and NATO.

Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, rejected criticism by former Vice President Dick Cheney that President Barack Obama’s decision on whether to expand the U.S. war footing in Afghanistan is taking too long.

Biden told reporters traveling with him as he flew back to Washington from central Europe:

I think that is absolutely wrong. I think what the administration is doing is exactly what we said it would do.

Holbrooke also announced that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is going to visit Pakistan to meet with government officials, leaders of the political opposition, civic leaders and business interests. He declined to provide specifics, saying details are being kept under wraps to protect Clinton’s security in a country that has been rocked by terrorist attacks in recent weeks. He lamented what he called speculation in Pakistan about the precise timing of her visit and the locations she intends to visit.

It will be Clinton’s first trip to Pakistan as secretary of state. She has not visited Afghanistan since taking office.