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October 21, 2009

Nobody Wins in the Afghan Runoff Election

Rajan Menon, Los Angeles Times

AP Photo

Politicians love photo-ops. So when Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) appeared alongside Hamid Karzai as the beleaguered Afghan president announced that he would agree to a runoff election, it was hardly surprising. Kerry was doing what politicians do.

Moreover, the senator was in Kabul to supplement the Obama administration's efforts to lean on Karzai to hold another presidential vote, given widespread evidence that the one held in August was rigged. When Karzai claimed victory then, his main opponent, former Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, cried foul, a chorus of international criticism arose and an Afghan government infamous for its ineptitude and sleaziness looked even more illegitimate.

It's this tricky context that makes Kerry's photo-op problematic....

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TAGGED: John Kerry, Abdullah Abdullah, Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan

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