WASHINGTON – The Obama administration has been quietly working with U.S. allies and Afghan officials on a package of reforms and anti-corruption measures it hopes will boost popular support for President Hamid Karzai and erase the doubts about his legitimacy raised by his fraud-marred re-election.

The success of the so-called "Afghanistan Compact" will hinge on Karzai's willingness to take bold actions, such as cracking down on official corruption, replacing ineffective ministers and surrendering some power to local authorities, which in the past he has resisted or failed to undertake.

"As long as the population views its government as weak or predatory, the Taliban's 'alternative' style of delivering security and some form of justice will continue to have traction," says a U.S. government document that outlines part of the proposed compact and was obtained by McClatchy.

"We would have to see some really concrete actions on the part of Karzai to be able to take this seriously," said Marvin Weinbaum, a former State Department intelligence analyst, now at the Middle East Institute. "It looks great on paper."

Bolstering the credibility of Karzai's government is essential to the Obama administration's efforts to curb the worsening Taliban-led insurgency amid growing casualties and shrinking public support for a war that entered its ninth year last month.

The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has requested as many as 80,000 additional U.S. troops as part of an ambitious counterinsurgency plan to strengthen the Afghan government and expand its security forces.

"Increasing our military footprint will exacerbate the perception among Afghans that the U.S. intends to occupy their country in support of a government many see as illegitimate," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.

A previous Afghanistan Compact, concluded in February 2006 between Karzai and international backers, promised to boost security, root out corruption, improve governance and expand economic development. It remains largely unfulfilled.

Karzai, who was declared the winner Monday after his main rival and former foreign minister, Abdullah Abdullah, decided to drop out of a Nov. 7 runoff, was expected to publicly embrace the new Afghanistan Compact at the start of his new term.

The Obama administration has been developing the compact for months in coordination with U.S. allies and Karzai's government. It has tried to keep the effort – which one U.S. official called "pre-cooked" – quiet so it could be presented as an Afghan initiative, according to several U.S. and European officials and the U.S. government document.

"Afghans must lead," the document says.

The document outlines proposals for ceding greater power to authorities who run Afghanistan's 34 provinces and nearly 400 districts, including providing them with more development funds and the ability to direct them to projects that they think are most needed.

U.S. officials said Karzai also would be expected to implement new efforts to crack down on rampant corruption fueled by the country's production of opium, which is used to produce heroin, and to replace ineffective ministers with technocrats. Ministries that fail to improve could see international funds cut, they said.

President Barack Obama appeared to be referring to the new plan when he told reporters at the White House Monday he had impressed on Karzai during a telephone call to congratulate him on his re-election that he was expected to move forcefully against corruption and to enact changes.

Call Jonathan S. Landay, McClatchy Washington Bureau, (202) 383-6012.