KABUL (AP) – Under intense pressure to fix his corrupt government, Afghan President Hamid Karzai was expected to strike a balance in his second inaugural speech Thursday: answer international demands for reform while appeasing political allies who returned him to power.

Karzai begins a second term facing an increasingly violent insurgency, an administration crippled by corruption, high unemployment and an impoverished population frustrated by eight years of war and few, if any, improvements to their daily lives.

Having come to his second term out of a fraud-tainted election that undermined his credibility with Western powers, Karzai is being watched particularly closely Thursday. His address could begin to heal wounds or to further alienate the international community.

An official familiar with a draft of the speech said Karzai would not pepper his address with rhetoric criticizing the international community. Still, Karzai is likely to wag his finger at foreign donors, as he has done before, for allowing millions of dollars to be skimmed from aid contracts before Afghans ever see the assistance. The official, who requested anonymity to avoid upstaging the president, said Karzai would repeat his demand for assistance to be funneled through the Afghan government as opposed to international organizations.

While Karzai was expected to address rampant graft and bribery that has corroded his government, his message is not likely to satisfy the international community, which is hinging future aid and troops on his resolve to clean up corruption. The Karzai government unveiled an anti-corruption and major crimes unit this week just as Afghanistan slipped three places to become the world's second most-corrupt country, according to an annual survey by Transparency International.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton — in town to attend the inauguration — said she is looking for the government to follow up the promises with action. She has said additional civilian aid depends on accountability on how the Afghans spend the money.

"I think that there's a very clear understanding, on the part of not only President Karzai but his government, that results of this election have to be seen and felt in the lives of the people of Afghanistan," Clinton told reporters Thursday.

She said the US expects Karzai to take a strong stand on corruption and to deliver on security pledges.

She had said on arrival Wednesday that the government has not done "nearly enough to demonstrate a seriousness of purpose to tackle corruption."