 Media Credit: MCT Campus DENIAL: President Karzai denies public allegations of voting fraud.
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After widespread accounts of corruption and scandal in the Aug. 20th elections in Afghanistan, incumbent President Hamid Karzai has at last given in to U.S. pressure for a runoff election. Initial results had shown Karzai defeating over 30 candidates that ran against him, but allegations had persisted that final vote totals between Karzai and closest challenger Abdullah Abdullah, the former Afghan Foreign Minister, were altered to give Karzai an illegitimate victory. Karzai vehemently denied allegations of corruption but public opinion remains against him. A recent Washington Post poll found that over 2/3 of Americans believe the Afghani election was deeply flawed, and the U.N. resolved that 1/3 of Karzai's votes were the result of fraud. This controversy comes at a particularly sensitive time for the Obama Administration, which is under heavy pressure to make a decision over whether to send an additional 40,000 troops to Afghanistan. The recommendation, by General Stanley McChrystal, would more than double the estimated 34,000 troops that Obama has already added to the turbulent country since taking office. The prospect has garnered domestic and international debate over the wisdom of such a move in the wake of an allegedly fraudulent election. Many question the need to risk American lives on a mission that would only empower a corrupt regime. The Obama Administration has struggled to answer this question, recently sending envoys to Afghanistan in the hopes of persuading incumbent President Karzai to accept a run-off election.
John Kerry traveled to Afghanistan in a series of tense talks to accept a runoff. Karzai relented after much arm-wringing, appearing with Kerry before the press to announce a November 7th run-off between himself and challenger Abdullah.
For better or worse, U.S. interests in Afghanistan are now tied to the potential success or failure of the runoff. Americans are divided over whether more troops should enter the country: a recent ABC News poll suggested that 47 percent of Americans are for troop buildup while 49 percent are against. Many Republicans say additional troops are vital to sustaining U.S. stability in the region, while opponents of such a move argue that the region has been anything but stable. Some have gone even further, calling for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from a country that is notoriously treacherous to foreign forces. Conservative columnist George Will is an unlikely advocate for withdrawal, reasoning that the Karzai government is "inept, corrupt, and predatory," and he is not alone in his view.
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