Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai announced his new cabinet on December 23, almost 50 days after his election as president. His new roster reflects bold steps to exclude the powerful warlords from his government while also appointing new and hitherto unknown technocrats and professionals to the... MORE

On Monday December 13, Afghan Planning Minister Ramazan Bashardost tendered his resignation due to a controversy regarding his policies toward non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He is the second planning minister to resign in the past 10 months. His predecessor, Haji M. Mohaqqiq, resigned due to political... MORE

The latest series of attacks in Afghanistan makes predicting the progress in the stabilization of the country a difficult call. The failure by the Taliban to disrupt the presidential elections on October 9 led to prognoses from both the Afghan government and the U.S. military... MORE

On October 9, Hamid Karzai became the first directly elected Afghan president, winning by more than 55% of the vote. Seven weeks later, he is still brooding over his cabinet. Speculations are rife about the people who may take the helms of the various ministries.... MORE

Osama bin Laden's videotaped address to the American people, originally broadcast on the al-Jazeera satellite network on October 29, incorporates both new ideas and familiar themes in perhaps his most lucid explanation of the case for jihad thus far. [1] Eschewing the fatigues of a... MORE

President Hamid Karzai's announcement that terrorism had been defeated in his country may return to haunt him and his administration, but there is no denying the magnitude of the success against terrorism in Afghanistan that was embodied in the results of the recent election. The... MORE

The latest videotape, featuring bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, aired by the al-Jazeera satellite channel on November 29, poses a number of questions both in terms of the content and the quality of the production. The content features the standard warning against the United States... MORE

Predictably, the October 9 Afghan presidential election is heading toward a landslide victory for Interim President Hamid Karzai, the U.S.-backed candidate who is considered to be the most moderate and acceptable to the Western world. As of October 20, various wire service reported that Karzai... MORE

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