Prez Hopefuls Offer Change Afghanistan Can Believe In

Power-sharing agreement may be in the works

(NEWSER) - The Afghanistan election has turned into such a mess that President Hamid Karzai is discussing some kind of partnership with at least two of his challengers, the Wall Street Journal reports. His camp and that of top challenger Abdullah Abdullah are talking through third parties, while Karzai also has reached out to fourth-place finisher Ashraf Ghani. More»

(NEWSER) - The supposedly indelible ink used to mark voters' fingers in today's Afghanistan election rubs off easily with household detergent, raising fears of widespread ballot fraud. Campaigners for Abdullah Abdullah, the main opposition candidate, found they could remove the ink with minimal effort, and a Guardian journalist scrubbed his finger clean in a matter of minutes. It could spell a big problem: As many as 3 million counterfeit voting cards are in circulation in Afghanistan. More»

Holbrooke allegedly talked to candidate about dropping out

(NEWSER) - With two weeks to go before the Afghanistan election, President Hamid Karzai is trying to cut a deal with a fellow Pashtun to help knock his main challenger out of the race. The Independent reports that American envoy Richard Holbrooke and the US ambassador have pushed for the deal, which would see the candidate polling in third drop out and be rewarded with a new job similar to prime minister. The embassy denies any interference. More»

Afghan prez promises to take over country's security in 5 years

(NEWSER) - Hamid Karzai vowed to fight corruption today after he was sworn in to a second 5-year term as president of Afghanistan. Karzai, whose election victory was tainted by widespread allegations of vote-rigging, said his government would learn from "our mistakes and shortcomings of the last eight years." The ceremony was attended by Afghan and foreign dignitaries, including Hillary Clinton, AP reports. More»

Blame NATO missteps, not corruption

(NEWSER) - Hamid Karzai's no saint but he's much better than Mullah Omar, civil war, or the murderous Soviet stooges that ruled Afghanistan for many years, writes Bret Stephens. It has become fashionable among "neo-neo-cons" who have suddenly discovered the virtues of good governance to slam Karzai's tainted administration, but history shows that it's the kind of government that "Afghans can reasonably expect," Stephens writes in the Wall Street Journal. More»