United Nations ? Afghanistan’s interim leader asked the United Nations on Wednesday to expand the international force protecting his fledgling government, saying it would signal a global commitment to a country brutalized by 23 years of war and neglect.

The appeal by Hamid Karzai represented an about-face for the new government, which had insisted before it took power five weeks ago that the force be restricted to the capital, Kabul, and the surrounding area.

Karzai told the U.N. Security Council that Afghans from across the country want an expansion of the force to ensure security following the rout of the former Taliban rulers by U.S. led-forces.

“Security is the foundation for peace, stability and economic reconstruction,” he stressed.

The new government’s desire to get multinational troops to other Afghan cities has been spurred by continuing instability, lawlessness, and a resurgence of activity by local warlords. This has hampered distribution of desperately needed humanitarian relief in many areas.

Karzai, on the first visit to the United States by an Afghan leader in nearly 30 years, had previously said in Kabul and Washington that many Afghans feel the force should be expanded and operate nationwide. But until Wednesday, he had stopped short of directly calling for an enlargement.

The 15-member council authorized deployment of the current, British-led force. If the Afghans want to expand the force’s operations outside the Kabul area, a new Security Council resolution would be needed.

Karzai told the council his government is committed to creating a national police force and a national army, “however, it will require some time.”

“The extension of the presence of multinational forces in Kabul and expanding their presence to other major cities will signal the ongoing commitment of the international community to peace and security in Afghanistan,” he said.

British diplomat Alistair Harrison said afterward that Karzai “makes a very important and a very interesting point that we are considering carefully along with all the other members of the council.”

Karzai also visited Ground Zero, where he laid a wreath of yellow roses at the site of the Sept. 11 attack. The terrorists, he said, “were against life itself.”