(Thumbnail image from UCLA)
“Four simple words: I will not participate. And with that, the election’s being thrown into chaos.” (Footage from BBC News)
“Abdullah Abdullah says he will not take place in next weekend's runoff election, although it looks like that will still go forward, telling supporters a ‘transparent election’ is not possible.” (FOX News)
After months of negotiations with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, presidential hopeful Abdullah Abdullah pulled out of a run-off election less than a week away.
We’re taking a look at what Abdullah’s withdrawal means for the unstable Afghan government and if it might change America's war policy. We have perspectives from CNN, France 24, Canada’s CTV, ABC News and FOX News.
First, CNN’s correspondent in Kabul tells us about the reaction from people on the ground.
“People are quite happy that this has come about. There was a lot of dissatisfaction with the fraud in the first round, and at least there seems to be a sense now that this is not just going to pass unnoticed, that there has to be some kind of resolution.”
Now that the election runoff has become a one horse race, a France 24 correspondent in Kabul says the Afghan officials might move to call the election off.
“Their understanding this morning when Dr. Abdullah made this announcement was that he’d withdrawn too late. It was too late for him to withdraw from this runoff and therefore the runoff should go ahead but we were to expect some maneuvering between President Hamid Karzai, the Independent Election Commission and the international community in the days to come before next weekend, which will probably see that vote cancelled.”
Many sides have expressed concerns about the Taliban who made threats to disrupt the election redo. A Canadian Press correspondent in Kandahar tells Canada’s CTV Abdullah’s withdrawal might not stop the Taliban from their mission.
“I wouldn’t want to put myself forward and say that we can expect them to ease up the pressure they’ve been putting on. It’s in their interest to disrupt this election as much as possible, and I think you could probably expect them to interpret this as a sign that their campaign of violence is working.”
The American media focus is more on the impact on the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos says Abdullah’s decision won’t affect President Barack Obama’s policy on whether or not to send more troops.
“I think this is something welcomed by the administration. They knew Abdullah couldn’t win anyway. I think they’ll be gratified by the fact that even as he pulled out of this race today he did call on his supporters not to demonstrate, not to go to the streets. But the question will be, does the Karzai government now have legitimacy and the credibility it needs?”
However, FOX News senior political analyst Brit Hume says Abdullah’s decision will affect Obama’s strategy, saying the U.S. President might see the destabilized government as a reason not to send more troops.
“That’s sort of the reverse of most counter-insurgency doctrine, which is you suppress the violence and then all the other good things will follow. They seemed to have turned it on its head and this now gives the president another excuse, if he’s looking for one, not to follow through on what General McChrystal wants.”
What do you think? Will this change U.S. strategy in Afghanistan?
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