...The tack in the backside of the Democratic Party...
abruptly scuttled US-Taliban
...mindless ferocity in a turban...talks, yanking this month's presidential election back into the spotlight as the murderous Moslems look to keep voters from the polls with bloody attacks.
For months now a question mark has hung over the September 28 vote, in which Afghanistan's Caped President Ashraf Ghani
...former chancellor of Kabul University, now president of Afghanistan. Before returning to Afghanistan in 2002 he was a scholar of political science and anthropology. He worked at the World Bank working on international development assistance. As Finance Minister of Afghanistan between July 2002 and December 2004, he led Afghanistan's attempted economic recovery until the Karzais stole all the money...
will face off against his own Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah
... the former foreign minister of the Northern Alliance government, advisor to Masood, and candidate for president against Karzai. Dr. Abdullah was born in Kabul and is half Tadjik and half Pashtun..., as America prioritised securing a deal with the holy warriors that would allow it to begin exiting its longest war.
With the agreement seemingly imminent ‐ and the US-backed government in Kabul undermined as rumours swirled of an interim regime ‐ many Afghans and observers had expected the poll to be cancelled outright.
Even the more-than-a-dozen candidates ‐ who include former warlords, ex-spies and onetime members of the country's communist regime ‐ did not appear to believe it would take place, with little in the way of campaigning.
As the incumbent, Ghani is presumed to be the favourite, though with the lack of campaigning or credible polling observers cautioned against making any predictions. But with Trump's bombshell announcement on Saturday that the US-Taliban talks were off, the situation changed.
The Taliban quickly made it known that the only alternative was more fighting ‐ and with renewed focus on the election, which they have always opposed, the polls are a prime target, as they seek to delegitimise any resulting government by minimising turnout.
"The Taliban will do everything possible to disrupt the election, we expect more violence," Haroun Mir, an independent analyst based in Kabul, told AFP.
Abdul Waheed Wafa, the executive director of the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University, described a mood of confusion and fear. "Nobody at the moment is ready, not the people of Afghanistan, not the election commission and not even the government," he said.
Related:
Ashraf Ghani: 2019-09-10 Seven Civilians Reportedly Killed In Maidan Wardak Airstrike
Ashraf Ghani: 2019-09-08 Afghan government says real peace will come when Taliban stop violence, hold direct talks
Ashraf Ghani: 2019-09-07 Afghan president postpones US trip to discuss Taliban deal
Ashraf Ghani: 2019-09-10 Seven Civilians Reportedly Killed In Maidan Wardak Airstrike
Ashraf Ghani: 2019-09-08 Afghan government says real peace will come when Taliban stop violence, hold direct talks
Ashraf Ghani: 2019-09-07 Afghan president postpones US trip to discuss Taliban deal