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Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai's nominees for his new Cabinet, unveiled today, underscore the competing demands the Afghan leader is seeking to satisfy as he embarks on a troubled second term in office.

Karzai, reinaugurated last month after a fraud-tainted election, is simultaneously trying to placate restive Western backers, woo back his disillusioned public and pacify powerful warlords who helped propel him to a second term.

The Cabinet list, leaked by presidential aides a day before being presented to lawmakers today, retained some well-regarded ministers in jobs considered crucial to rebuilding Afghanistan and trying to win the fight against the Taliban.

And Karzai, under intense international pressure to institute reforms in his government as the United States and its allies prepare to widen the war effort, dismissed at least two scandal-tainted members of his previous Cabinet.

But his list of nominees also included Ismail Khan, a former warlord who served in the outgoing Cabinet. Western diplomats had hoped Karzai would sideline him.

Afghan lawmakers, who will vote in coming days on the nominations, generally appeared less than impressed. For many, the list was a graphic reminder that political patronage remains a crucial force in public life in Afghanistan.

"It is like a cake that everyone wants a piece of," said Fauzia Kofi, a member of parliament from Badakhshan province, in Afghanistan's remote north.

"With all our problems -- security, the economy, corruption -- the gap between the people and the government is growing every day," she said.

Still, the verdict in many quarters appeared to be that although things could have been better, they could also have been much worse.

The list "is certainly a step in the right direction," said Aleem Siddique, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Afghanistan. "The signs are encouraging."

Western diplomats spoke guardedly about Karzai's Cabinet choices, not wanting to preempt the parliamentary confirmation.

But the embassies of the United States, Britain and Canada -- the three most important partners in the Western military coalition -- all issued statements taking a cautious but generally positive tone.

"We look forward to [lawmakers] carrying out their duty to vet and approve candidates who will contribute to Afghanistan's progress toward institutional reform, security and prosperity," said Caitlin Hayden, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman.

The new list retains some ministers the Obama administration has publicly praised, including Interior Minister Mohamad Hanif Atmar and Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak. Their ministries will be chiefly responsible for an envisioned buildup of the police and army -- pivotal to plans for an eventual drawdown of Western forces.

The same leadership is being maintained in ministries through which most Western aid is funneled, including education, health and agriculture.

The inclusion of Khan in the Cabinet, continuing in his post as energy minister, was a disappointment to human rights groups, who have accused him of large-scale abuses. Karzai's spokesman Waheed Omar defended him as a competent minister.

"The only standard for those who remain is proficiency," he told reporters in Kabul.

Women's rights activists also expressed dismay that the 23-member Cabinet includes only one woman: the minister for women's affairs.

"It's really a mixed bag," said Daoud Sultanzoi, a lawmaker from Ghazni province who is a frequent critic of Karzai.

"What the new ministers need to think about it how they will solve all the many, many problems they are inheriting."