Afghan challenger Abdullah drops out of election

From staff and wire reports

Contributing: Jim Michaels in Kabul; Associated Press

KABUL — The main challenger to Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced Sunday that he was withdrawing from the Nov. 7 presidential runoff. The decision dealt a potential blow to the government's legitimacy at a time when President Obama is weighing a decision to send thousands of additional troops into the fight there.
Abdullah Abdullah made his defiant announcement inside a tent packed with hundreds of supporters, including tribal leaders wearing turbans who sat near the front of the audience. Supporters interrupted his speech with scattered applause and cries of Allah Akbar, God is great.

The decision leaves Afghanistan's government in a fragile position and heightens political tensions at a sensitive time. Karzai's popularity is waning amid charges of corruption and incompetence as it struggles against a growing insurgency.

"I think the government will have a difficult time," said Sayed Eshaq Gilani, an Abdullah supporter and member of parliament. "The most important thing is legitimacy."

Karzai's campaign spokesman, Waheed Omar, said it was "very unfortunate" that Abdullah had withdrawn but that the Saturday runoff should proceed.

"We believe that the elections have to go on, the process has to complete itself, the people of Afghanistan have to be given the right to vote," Omar said.

President Obama is considering a request from the top U.S. and NATO commander here, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, to send thousands of U.S. troops to shore up the fight against the Taliban and other insurgencts. Having a credible local government to partner with is considered critical to defeating an insurgency.

At a news conference after the announcement Abdullah said he would advise his supporters not to take to the streets and said he remained committed to unifying the country. The capital appeared quiet and there were no reports of protests elsewhere in the country.

"We fully endorse his emphasis on national unity," the U.S. Embassy said in a statement.

A clouded electoral picture further complicates the Obama administration's efforts to decide whether to send tens of thousands more troops to Afghanistan to battle the Taliban and its al-Qaeda allies.

The White House has been waiting for a new government in Kabul to announce a decision, but the war has intensified in the meantime. October was the deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces; there were at least 57 American deaths.

Before the announcement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton downplayed the prospect of an Abdullah withdrawal, saying it would not undermine the legitimacy of the election.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the legitimacy of the election," Clinton told reporters Saturday in Abu Dhabi. "It's a personal choice."

Nevertheless, the contentious electoral process has divided anti-Taliban groups at a time when the U.S. and its allies are pressing for unity in the face of growing insurgent strength.

U.S. officials pressured Karzai into agreeing to a runoff after U.N.-backed auditors threw out nearly a third of his votes from the August ballot, citing fraud.

Despite the rhetoric it is impossible to rule out an accommodation between Karzai and Abdullah or his supporters. Afghanistan's history is replete with examples of factions continuing to talk even as they were killing each other.

"In Afghanistan even the people who have fought against one another sit together and they talk," Abdullah said. He said he hasn't ruled out talks in the future.

Abdullah had demanded that Karzai replace the election commissioners, whom he said were biased, and several ministers. Karzai had refused.

It is not clear whether election officials will go ahead with balloting on Saturday or whether Abdullah's name will be taken off the ballot.

Abdullah, the former foreign minister, said he made his decision after Karzai turned down his demands for changes to the Independent Election Commission and other measures that he said would prevent massive fraud, which marred the first round of balloting on Aug. 20.

Azizullah Lodin, the head of the Karzai-appointed commission, said he would have to confer with constitutional lawyers before deciding later Sunday whether the runoff would proceed without Abdullah.

Kai Eide, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, said in a statement that the next step is to "bring this electoral process to a conclusion in a legal and timely manner."

The statement did not address whether the runoff should go forward, though U.N. spokesman Aleem Siddique said it looked impractical.

"It's difficult to see how you can have a runoff with only one candidate," Siddique said.

Abdullah also made no mention of agreeing to take part in any future unity government with Karzai, which the U.S. and its international partners believe is the best hope for curbing the Taliban insurgency.

Instead, Abdullah said Karzai's government had not been legitimate since its mandate expired last May. The Supreme Court, appointed by Karzai, extended his mandate after the election was put off from last spring until August.

"In one hour, all my conditions could have been implemented. Unfortunately, until the last moment we were waiting, but we heard they rejected our appeals," Abdullah said.

He said the people of Afghanistan "have the right" to a free and fair election but the last ballot "was a failure."

Obama administration officials said they would be receptive to a power-sharing deal to avoid a runoff if Karzai and Abdullah could agree on a formula.

But Abdullah decided to exit the race after talks between the two sides broke down Thursday, according to two people close to the negotiations. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak for the candidate.

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Ok, *(sighing)* I have read this news article (that I found on the USA Today site) twice, and I am still trying to get a handle on it.

I am trying to understand what this would mean to our military forces that are over ther now, and what it may mean to future troops [US] that may be sent over there.

How does this run-off election in Afghanistan affect our U.S. troops? Or better still, (since I am still trying to get a clear understanding of this whole thing) does this election run-off affect our troops?

The way I see it, and I could be mis-reading this, is that it could affect Obama's decision to send more troops, no matter what happens during or after the run-off. I think, and remember this is just my personal opinion, that it will have a negative affect on Obama's decision in such a way that he won't send the number of troops needed, or that he may decide to NOT send any additional troops at all.

Personally, if that is the case, I think that it would be an unwise decision for him [Obama] not to send the number of troops needed or to not send them. I believe that it would seriously hurt him politically.

So, now, you guys tell me what is really going on with this. Because I am really trying to learn and understand what is going on in our country and our world and I cannot succeed without the help of you guys.