RFE/RL Afghanistan Report
10/21/2009 3:51:57 PM
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about Afghanistan.For more stories on Afghanistan, please visit and bookmark our Afghanistan page .
Runoff Comes With Second Round Of Obstacles An ongoing war. Harsh winter weather. Voter apathy. Enormous logistical and security difficulties must be overcome if the second round of Afghanistan's presidential vote, to be held in just two weeks' time, is to be considered a success. More
Karzai Endorses Afghan Runoff Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission has ordered that a presidential runoff be held on November 7. Incumbent President Hamid Karzai has called the runoff against former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah a "step forward" for Afghan democracy. More
Terror Expert Discusses Taliban, Al-Qaeda Funding Although the Taliban is growing rich from the drug trade in Afghanistan, some officials, including U.S. Assistant Treasury Secretary for Terrorist Financing David Cohen, say Al-Qaeda's leadership has recently fallen on hard times financially. RFE/RL's Washington correspondent Andrew F. Tully in spoke about this with New York-based Rachel Ehrenfeld, a prolific author who specializes in terrorism and financial corruption. More
Afghan Election Decision Comes With Complications With Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints Commission set to issue its findings on allegations of fraud in the country's August 20 vote, some believe a second-round vote is likely. But with Afghans weary of rising insecurity and their distrust in the election process at a peak, the country faces a difficult road in the event a runoff is held, or if incumbent President Hamid Karzai is named the first-round winner. More
Amid Terror Attacks, Military Girds For Waziristan Offensive Two Pakistani cities have come under lethal attack by militants. The ongoing violence is seen as an attempt by extremists to prevent the military’s impending offensive against the South Waziristan tribal region, which is considered a vast sanctuary for Pakistani and Afghan extremists and Al-Qaeda. More
