Afghanistan holds landmark vote

[igloo]

Afghanistan holds landmark vote

An Afghan policeman frisks a voter at the entrance of a polling centre in Kabul, 18 September 2005

Thousands of police and soldiers are on duty for the poll

Voting has ended for the first parliamentary and local elections held in Afghanistan in more than 30 years.

More than 12 million voters had a choice of almost 6,000 candidates. Voting was steady through the day.

Thousands of foreign and Afghan security forces were on high alert after a campaign marred by violence.

Six people, including two policemen and a French soldier, were killed in separate incidents. A UN compound near Kabul came under a rocket attack.

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One UN worker was injured in that incident.

The BBC's Andrew North in Kabul says, despite reports of queues in various parts of the country, there are signs that turn-out was lower than for last year's presidential vote.

In the 2004 polls which President Hamid Karzai won by a landslide, turn-out was 75%.

At one polling station in Kabul there were handfuls of voters where last year there had been long lines.

I'm afraid but I don't care - it's to improve Afghanistan so I have to, I have to vote

Voter in Kandahar

Our correspondent says the picture that emerged seems to be one of steady, rather than brisk voting.

There were 5,800 candidates nationwide for the two elections.

Only a few of them declared any political ties, which observers say made it hard for voters to be able to make an informed choice between candidates.

The elections were part of an international plan to restore democracy after US-led forces overthrew the Taleban in 2001 and followed presidential polls won by Mr Karzai last year. The election may well produce a fragmented national assembly focusing on local interests. Final results are due in late October.

Sporadic

President Karzai was one of the early voters in the capital, saying it was a good day for Afghanistan whatever the result.

"We are making history," he said as he cast his ballot.

Reports from Kandahar in the south say women voted in large numbers. BBC reporters in Jalalabad say more women than men voted there.

Correspondents say the sporadic violence did not appear to have deterred voters.

Attacks by militants, mostly in southern and eastern rural areas, have been largely blamed on supporters of Afghanistan's former Taleban regime who oppose the election.

Pictures and symbols

The administration of the elections was an additional headache.

Election workers load ballot boxes onto a donkey in north-western Afghanistan

Ballot boxes have been sent by donkeys, horses and camels

Poor transport links and inhospitable terrain presented huge problems.

Illiteracy is also a factor and there were fears many people may find it difficult to choose candidates by their picture and symbol.

In Kabul, voters had to work their way through a seven-page ballot paper with almost 400 candidates for the parliament alone.

About 40,000 Afghan police and army troops were on duty, backed up by more than 30,000 US and Nato forces.

More than 1,000 people, including seven election candidates, have been killed in militant-linked violence in the past six months - the worst bloodshed since US-led forces ousted the Taleban in 2001.

Organisers and President Karzai urged voters to defy the militants and turn out in large numbers.

A spokesman for the UN, which has helped organise the foreign-funded vote, said militants had failed to disrupt preparations for the election.

The elections are being seen as another step away from years of war and turmoil and are part of a process agreed four years ago to bring democracy to Afghanistan following the toppling of the Taleban.

Final results are due in late October.

[igloo]

Man, no comments...........sad. This is something historic....imperfect yes, but a start, a big time start...

I guess there was no comments because the mainstream media has saturated coverage of this positive event...

[igloo]

bump

[igloo]

September 20, 2005, 8:21 a.m.

Above & Beyond

Profiles of Afghan commitment.

By John R. Thomson

Each one is different. They have come from as far away as Australia and the United States; most are Afghan, several are not. They are inventors, entrepreneurs, cosmetologists, broadcasters, and veterinarians. But for all their variety, they share a single common bond: the desire to make a significant contribution to the daunting process of reconstructing Afghanistan.

Home Again

Ishaq Shahryar made the first contribution of time and talent. A successful inventor and manufacturer of low-cost photovoltaic solar cells and an American citizen since 1967, Shahryar resigned his business interests and citizenship to serve as Afghanistan's first ambassador to the United States in 24 years. "When President Karzai made the request, it was my duty to do everything I could to help the country reenter the community of civilized nations and assist in its reconstruction," the former ambassador observes almost offhandedly.

Dubbed the "Sun King" by British media for his professional accomplishments, Shahryar created important light and warmth in the renewed U.S.-Afghan relationship in the weeks and months following the country's liberation. "Our greatest moment was when President Bush visited the embassy on September 10, 2002," Shahryar enthuses, "after we had completely renovated it after so many years of neglect. The president told me, 'Ambassador, you are a great man and a good man. I salute you for putting the country of your birth ahead of yourself and I came here to give you my support.'"

Zahira Zahir, cosmetologist and hair stylist to presidents, was determined to do everything possible to help Afghan women return to formal education, after being blocked for eight years by the fanatic Islamist Taliban regime. It was a stiff challenge in a country where UNICEF estimates only 14 percent of women are literate.

Graduate of and teacher at Zarghoona, Kabul's leading girls school; daughter of a respected prime minister; wife of the country's last ambassador to the United Nations before the 1978 Communist coup; the person called "Z" by both Presidents Bush: Zahira Zahir formed a tax-exempt foundation in 2002 that has to date raised more than $300,000. "Every penny", she notes proudly, "has been spent on renovating my school, giving the students proper supplies, increasing teachers' salaries, and building a completely new school facility. We are currently educating seven thousand girls, every day, and by August the number will be more than 12,000."

Saad Mohseni has worked in senior finance positions in his native Melbourne, Australia, and London. He has performed pre-liberation diplomatic duties in London, Paris, and Washington on behalf of his ancestral base, Afghanistan. Today, he is a full time media mogul in Kabul, "Bringing first-world communications services to the land of my forefathers."

Arman FM is the nation's first FM radio station. Tolo TV ranks number one in Afghan television and has established a regional presence as well. Afghan Scene is the only professionally-edited English magazine in the country and Yellow Pages Afghanistan is fast becoming the best business directory in the market. Afghan ITT focuses on information technology and telecommunications, while the currently-forming Lapis provides advertising agency services. Is it too much for one man to juggle with limited, if dedicated, staff? "The challenge is there and it is real," Mohseni says. "Afghanistan needs everything, and it needs it now. The country's recovery and survival very much depend on bridging the gap between the outside world and our beleaguered nation. The voice of the nation has rarely been heard, at home or abroad. Moreover, our media entities give the people a chance to voice concerns and grievances — vital for any democratic system and process. We have become a means for the nation to let off steam."

Ashraf Ghani, Ali Ahmad Jalali, and Ahmad Yusuf Nuristani — all PhDs from leading American universities — are three of many Afghan Americans who returned home to help rebuild Afghan society, working with the 24 million who stayed. Nuristani works seemingly endless days as first deputy minister of defense, Jalali in the high-stress post of interior minister, and Ghani as president of Kabul University. So far, all three are working and living in Kabul as dual citizens of Afghanistan and the U.S. A controversial clause in the new constitution stipulates, however, that only persons holding a single — Afghan — passport may serve in the government, making the choice difficult for those who have lived most of their adult years abroad and would like to maintain a foothold in their adopted countries.

It is an important issue which remains to be solved by the new national assembly following the September elections. While no one is willing to predict the outcome, retention of the single citizenship clause would deprive the government of much-needed expertise gained abroad during Afghanistan's dark period from 1978 to the end of 2001.

A Little Help From Some Friends

Not only Afghan émigrés have arrived to help rebuild the country. Army Colonel Lyle R. Jackson, a veterinarian member of the 351st Civil Affairs Command, has spent most of the past three years studying livestock conditions in the country. He has assessed the destructive extent of what is considered a foot-and-mouth-disease epidemic affecting cattle, sheep, and goats throughout the nation, and developed a plan for its limitation, and control which he tirelessly pursues. "More than 80percent of all Afghans own at least one of these animals, which can be a significant contribution to both diet and income. If we can find the funds to provide $5 annually per animal to vaccinate the herds, the reduction in animal death and the increase in production will provide a critical boost to the legal economy — a boost providing the replacement income that can wean Afghan farmers from the cultivation of poppies," Col. Jackson observes.

"The net cost to undertake a nationwide program would average $8 million per year for five years, as we will be asking farmers to progressively pay for their animals to be treated. This is a fraction of the aid we are giving individual Afghan provinces annually and would have a national impact. Moreover, working through our Provincial Reconstruction Teams in 22 provinces, we have the delivery system to impact 70-80 percent of the Afghan herd."

Clearly, this nationwide vaccination would create huge benefits for Afghanistan and the entire world. Col. Jackson notes, "The replacement of poppies will mean the saving of billions of dollars worldwide lost to the debilitating effects of heroin consumption, and at the same time save Afghanistan one billion dollars in capital outflows annually, currently paid for imported livestock. The reinvestment of that import cost back into the Afghan economy will create new wealth. This newly created wealth will help stabilize the economy, an absolute necessity before other sectors — including mining, natural resources and manufacturing — can be exploited.

"This program will be an axe at the root of the deadly poppy/opium/heroin disease," Jackson concludes. "When Afghan farmers can feed their families adequately and legally, the war in Afghanistan will be truly won. They need to be able to look up from their plows and see the needs of the whole country — security, education, police, and other government services."

Wiring Afghanistan

Cisco Systems, the leading developer and manufacturer of networking equipment for the computer industry, has made a significant investment of resources to develop Cisco Networking Academies to train students in the installation and maintenance of modern computer networks. To date, three academies operate in Kabul, with more than 400 enrollees, including almost 40-percent women. Students who successfully master the demanding one-year program receive the Certified Cisco Networking Associate degree, recognized worldwide as the first of four career levels in the networking field. The program is being expanded to four of Afghanistan's major cities — Kandahar, Mazar, Herat ,and Khost — under the auspices of USAID and its collaborators, Cisco and UNDP. There are also plans to create another eight to twelve academies, including at least two more in Kabul. Early next year, the plan is to launch additional courses that will qualify graduates as Cisco Certified Networking Professionals, a major step up in the Cisco hierarchy.

"Cisco has been farsighted in developing these academies, first in Africa, where they now have more than 100 academies," observes Lane Smith, USAID/Afghanistan's coordinator of this and other Information Technology programs. "They realized that products and systems were changing so fast they had to develop a large training component and founded the non-profit Cisco Networking Academies Program in 1997. Cooperation with AID and the United Nations has successfully introduced this high tech educational program into some of the least developed countries in Asia and Africa with a minimum of problems."

Will and Determination

The list of individuals and organizations — foreign and domestic — who are aiding Afghanistan in rebuilding from virtually total destruction is long indeed. Perhaps not surprisingly, all of those who has assisted in reconstructing the society are adamant that the will and determination of the Afghans has been vital to success achieved so far. "There is a determination to create a free and prospering society," notes one, "that is fierce and unrelenting. They are determined to get the job done."

So is former Ambassador Ishaq Shahryar, who with two Afghan-American colleagues is working on the development of several significant industrial and agricultural projects. "The most important thing those of us who have become naturalized citizens of other countries can do is to lend what expertise we have gained to rebuild Afghanistan," Shahryar comments. "Our goal is to develop worthwhile projects that will provide employment and income opportunities for thousands of Afghans. Other expatriates are bringing expertise in government and education. With our brothers and sisters throughout the country, we can together make our nation modern and viable."

Don't sell this visionary or his country short. Any man who gives up his business and citizenship to serve the country of his birth is both brave and a calculated risk-taker, two factors which untold numbers of Afghans are applying daily in the rebuilding of their country.

— John R. Thomson is a longtime Middle East businessman, diplomat, and journalist.

[igloo]

SNUBBING DEMOCRACY

By RALPH PETERS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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September 21, 2005 -- FOR 50 years, the American left complained that we supported dictators instead of backing human rights and democracy. On Sunday, the lefties got yet another dose of what they used to demand: Free elections in Afghanistan, long the victim of tyranny.

The left's reaction? Ignore the success of the balloting and explain away its importance by bending the truth until it's as twisted as an arrow designed by a liberal-arts faculty.

Why? Because Afghan democracy was enabled by the U.S. military — and by that devil incarnate, George W. Bush.

Leftists care nothing for real human beings. They only care about causes in the abstract — and who does a thing is far more important than what actually gets done.

It's disheartening to see our lefties reject every worthy value they once professed, switching their support to psychotic terrorists and dictators (well, they always did like Stalin and Mao . . . ). But the rest of us can take heart from the Afghans' courage, from their determination to assert their political liberty.

Even major U.S. news outlets, disappointed by the lack of Election Day bloodshed, relegated the voting to the inner pages or to a brief mention well along in the broadcast. Heroism in the cause of democracy doesn't merit headlines.

Instead, we heard whining that just over 50 percent of eligible Afghans voted, that there were too many candidates, that warlords were allowed to run, that the Taliban's back in business and, generally, that Afghanistan still isn't a replica of Vermont four years after its liberation.

OK. Let's consider the complaints.

* If "only" 50 to 60 percent of the potential voters cast a ballot, that's better than a political environment in which nobody gets to vote. Turnout is a lot lower in most U.S. congressional and local elections — and we don't have to brave threats of death and trudge over some of the world's harshest mountains to cast a ballot. (Mostly, we won't even drive to the polling place down the street.)

* Too many candidates? During our last presidential election, I, for one, would have liked more choices than our two party monopolies offered. Afghans are learning as they go. At this stage in the country's development, inclusive elections are better than exclusive ones.

* Warlords running for office? Is it better just to have them running guns? Let's see who won after the votes are tallied. Let the people choose.

* Taliban back in business? They never went away completely — and they won't. You can no more eradicate all bigotry and hatred than you can wipe out crime.

Americans reduced the once-powerful Ku Klux Klan to a laughingstock, but a few grown men still parade around in sheets. The Taliban will lurk on the fringes of Afghan society for years, representing a small, virulent constituency. But they'll never come back from the fringes.

And just by the way: In the southern provinces where the Taliban once was strongest, higher-than-average numbers of women registered to vote. Think they want Mullah Omar & Co. back?

* Is Afghanistan imperfect? You bet. But its government doesn't look bad compared to Louisiana's. Afghanistan will never be Vermont. The issue is whether or not it will be a better Afghanistan. It already is.

Afghanistan never had real democracy before the election that chose President Hamid Karzai. This is a largely illiterate country where only 6 percent of the people have electricity. Far from being cause for discouragement, the fact that so many Afghans turned out to vote should make us cheer the magnetism of democracy, the human longing for self-determination.

Despite all the Taliban threats of Election Day violence that tantalized the media, the polling hours passed without a single major attack. Nationwide, nine people died in isolated incidents of violence.

The "resurgent" Taliban couldn't even muster one good suicide bomber. Wasn't that worth a headline?

As a young soldier on a weekend pass a quarter-century back, I woke after an interesting night in Paris to read that the Soviets had invaded Afghanistan. Later, as an intelligence officer, I monitored the Kremlin's occupation. After the Soviets fled, I watched the Taliban. I read Afghan history and visited the region. I never dreamed that so broken a country could make such rapid progress toward democracy.

Sunday's elections were a testament to sheer human resilience.

We all should be exhilarated by the valor and spunk displayed by Afghan voters. Left or right, we should be heartened by the yearning of human beings to control their own destiny, to cast off ancient traditions of oppressive governance. And we should be boundlessly proud of our troops, who gave the Afghan population this opportunity.

Instead, we get shrugged shoulders and cheap criticism. The non-coverage of Sunday's elections said far more about us than it did about Afghans.

Ralph Peters' latest book is "New Glory, Expanding America's Global Supremacy."

[drlogic]

bump

bump? HUH?

Where you taking a bump? Snorting a line? LOL If I ain't runnin' wit ya' , I'm flying right beside ya'! LOL

You're right on dude.....

You're not gonna change any minds here. Some are just stuck on stupid, you know who you are, fuckers!!!

You were right about destruction too, he just keeps getting up to take more beatings. Is destruction a little kid? teenager? Bitter SouthAmerican illegal who's not allowed to vote? Escapee from a mental rehab institute? Homeless junkie w/ a blackberry?

All of the above?

[destruction]

Back from trolling for little boys in the kiddie chats dr. diddler??

What dr. diddler (nice name for ya) does not know.

destruction is an American citizen. Born in America. destruction is a caucasian adult male in his 40s and since destruction is American born, over 18 and an adult, he is ALLOWED to vote in the USA. He does not do drugs, therefore not a junkie unlike dr. logic who is an illegal, does not have a green card and spends his life selling crack and heroin on street corners to make ends meet because he is too lazy to find a real job and trolls kiddie and teen websites for his pedophile fantasies and trolls the park for children to molest, besides all you have to do is look at Rush Limbaugh's oxycontin habit and that is enough proof that ALL neocons are junkies and child molesters. Does that fuck up your wet teen sex dreams dr. diddler?

PEDO....

BTW. When are you gonna re-enlist and go tgo war again since you support this war?? You should realize if you support a war, you must go fight it or shut up. Don't be a chickenhawk like igloo.... Just think. You can do better than him. You can go from hawk to chickenhawk back to hawk. Igloo is just a chickenhawk....

http://www.whydidthechickencrosstheroad.com/sounds/clucks/chickencoop.wav

[destruction]

anti-American crap..........

[igloo]

destruction....please don't post on a serious thread, about a serious, historic moment..........stick to your thread of nonsense, shit dribble. fantasyland, and ignorance...

Seriously, go away.......

[drlogic]

Back from trolling for little boys in the kiddie chats dr. diddler??

What dr. diddler (nice name for ya) does not know.

destruction is an American citizen. Born in America. destruction is a caucasian adult male in his 40s and since destruction is American born, over 18 and an adult, he is ALLOWED to vote in the USA. He does not do drugs, therefore not a junkie unlike dr. logic who is an illegal, does not have a green card and spends his life selling crack and heroin on street corners to make ends meet because he is too lazy to find a real job and trolls kiddie and teen websites for his pedophile fantasies and trolls the park for children to molest, besides all you have to do is look at Rush Limbaugh's oxycontin habit and that is enough proof that ALL neocons are junkies and child molesters. Does that fuck up your wet teen sex dreams dr. diddler?

PEDO....

BTW. When are you gonna re-enlist and go tgo war again since you support this war?? You should realize if you support a war, you must go fight it or shut up. Don't be a chickenhawk like igloo.... Just think. You can do better than him. You can go from hawk to chickenhawk back to hawk. Igloo is just a chickenhawk....

http://www.whydidthechickencrosstheroad.com/sounds/clucks/chickencoop.wav

U'r in your 40's? And still eat crayons?

Ever heard this saying:

If your under 40 and conservative, YOU HAVE NO LIFE!

If your over 40 and liberal, YOU HAVE NO BRAINS!

You're just a hater, guy! Who pisses in your wheaties every morning? Life was meant to be lived. You should feel greatful to be an American, not resent it. You've got a mental condition that will not be cured on these msg brds. Personally, I think you need to get yourself some fresh pussy! You show all the symptoms of someone who is completely disconnected from reality, sits in a house of filth, swearing at his computer, living off of hotpockets and peanut butter who whacks off 5 times a day. Stop flogging your dolphin and get out more. Breathe some fresh air. If at all possible, find yourself a hooker and try fucking for once in your life. 40 yr. old virgin? All the signs are there.

Now, you were babbling about re-enlisting. Yes, I've done my time. 8 yrs. was enough for me. I've moved on since then. I got out in 1999. 8 yrs. of service as a helicopter mechanic(AD) and search and rescue swimmer (SAR)for the U.S. Navy for HC-2 (Helicopter Combat Support Squadron II). I'm already a Gulf war vet.(on detachment to Bahrain w/ the HC-2 Desert Ducks) and have had my share of action and rescues. Those guys you see hanging from cables off of helicopters,,,,,,that was me Scooter!

Enough about me, getting back to your point about re-enlisting....I'm good thanks! I've done my time. I'm a family man now w/ children. We have plenty of good soldiers doing what they do best. Defend your right to be an imbecile. Like I've said before, If you're not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem. You do NOT set the standards of support for the war and our military. I have enough first hand experience with war and the military. A U.S. Army brat born in Wurzburg, Bavaria, Germany, you have no clue who you're picking this little email fight with. I'm 1 of 2 sons of a 22 yr. decorated, retired Army soldier who served 2 tours in Vietnam and currently on 100% VA disability from injuries recieved during that war, so excuse me if I wipe my ass w/ your 3rd grade rants. So much for your banana boat jokes. My family has done it's part, has yours? Where's your sacrifice?

Truth be told, your the coward! All you do is cry, complain, whine, bitch, whaaa-whaaa-whaaaa,,ma-ma,,ma-ma,,,the sky is falling, the sky is falling, etc......And you say you're in your 40's. HOW PATHETIC! A grown man acting like a bitch! Get a grip man! Get a hold of yourself! Stand up and stand tall and enough w/ your bitching! Act like a man for crying outloud.....That is, unless you're an ass pirate.

Dr. Logic prescription for Desctruction: 1 fresh pussy and 2 prozacs, then call me in the morning.

[obby]