Afghan Vote's True Winner: The Taliban

Insurgent 'brothers' reject the Afghan president's call for unity

(NEWSER) - Hamid Karzai made some sweeping but non-specific promises to banish corruption and reach out to opponents today in his first press conference since being re-elected by default. The Afghan president also reached out to "Taliban brothers," urging them to "embrace their land," but his overtures were scorned by insurgent leaders who said the canceled runoff vote was a victory for them, the BBC reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Taliban fighters wearing explosive-laced vests stormed a government-run bank in central Kabul today, precipitating an hours-long shootout with Afghan forces 24 hours before the presidential election. A Taliban source said that 20 militants had entered Kabul, a day after a suicide bomb and a rocket attack rocked the capital. Afghan officials continue to press for a media blackout on election violence, fearing a depressed turnout. More»

(NEWSER) - As Afghans prepare to vote on Thursday, the top issue for all the leading presidential candidates remains whether and how to negotiate with the Taliban. Hamid Karzai, still predicted to win, has made vocal calls for negotiations but has done little so far in office, and Taliban insurgents are imperiling the election. His top challengers both want a more grass-roots approach to peacemaking. Abdullah Abdullah, Karzai's main rival, told the New York Times, "If you lose the people, you lose the war." 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»

Dispute could spark fresh fighting in northern province

(NEWSER) - A powerful warlord-turned-governor's rejection of Hamid Karzai's election victory is raising fears that one of Afghanistan's most stable provinces could collapse into fighting. Atta Mohammed Noor—the only one of Afghanistan's 34 governors to have openly supported Karzai's rival, Abdullah Abdullah—has denounced Karzai as an "unlawful president." His many supporters in the northern province of Balkh are expected to turn violent if the federal government tries to remove him. More»