U.S. declares Karzai legitimate Afghan leader

The White House declared Hamid Karzai the legitimate president of Afghanistan on Monday and said President Barack Obama's decision on whether to send more U.S. troops there is still weeks away, Reuters reported.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama planned to telephone Karzai shortly since a run-off Afghan presidential election scheduled for Nov. 7 was called off after opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah pulled out of the race.