As Afghans prepare to vote in their landmark presidential election on Saturday, October 9, an air of suspense is cloaking the country. The formal campaigning ended on October 6, 48 hours before election day. Interim President Hamid Karzai, backed by the United States and European... MORE

The October 9 poll to elect a new president in Afghanistan holds no surprises. Most foreign observers and Afghans perceive the election campaign as a farce, and that if the Bush administration wants to continue interim President Hamid Karzai in his present post for another... MORE

The Pakistani military's six-month hunt for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants along Afghanistan's southeastern border has escalated into new incursions to other areas of the South Waziristan Federally Administered Tribal Area. More ominously, these new offensives are in the territory of the more numerous and better... MORE

Afghan President Hamid Karzai kicked off his re-election campaign with a September 12 press conference in Kabul. Many of his opponents or their representatives have also begun to carry their messages to various provinces (VOA, September 12). Despite the full-throttle campaigning, there are questions about... MORE

On September 11, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai dismissed Ismail Khan, widely known as the "warlord" of Herat province in western Afghanistan. The move came one day before Karzai announced the programs and policies for his next term of office. Karzai's decision was believed to be... MORE

Just before 6 pm on Sunday, August 29, a powerful bomb blast shook the DynCorp office in central Kabul. Reports say as many as seven people, including some foreigners, were killed. This explosion was one of the biggest of its kind in recent months, and... MORE

In mid-July, Afghanistan's interim president, Hamid Karzai, issued two statements that reflected an unprecedented toughness toward drug traffickers and warlords in the country. Karzai summoned most of Afghanistan's reputed warlords to Kabul to inform them that their resistance to disarmament was trying his patience. According... MORE

A British parliamentary panel issued a report in late July calling attention to Afghanistan's political fragility. The report warns that "Afghanistan could implode with terrible consequences," unless security is improved and resources provided. The report concludes that there is "little if any, sign of the... MORE

Monday July 26 was the deadline for candidates to register for Afghanistan's upcoming presidential elections. The cut-off date brought several surprises for the Afghan electorate and for the international community observing the process. In an unexpected move, President Hamid Karzai called a press conference late... MORE

On July 22, General Abdur Rashid Dostum, the strongman of northern Afghanistan, announced his intention to run for the presidency. He called his decision the will of the representatives of his people. His entry in the field brings the total number of candidates to near... MORE