First ever democratic elections in Afghanistan

Remnants of Taliban sucking it up

Excerpts:

The Taliban vowed to turn the Afghan election into a day of
bloodshed, but the rebels mounted only a smattering of small-scale
attacks on police and civilians and a larger clash that left many of
their own dead.

After months of what proved to be empty threats, military commanders
and ordinary Afghans said Sunday the vote was a serious setback for the
holdouts of the hard-line Islamic regime that was driven from power by
U.S. bombs almost three years ago for harboring Osama bin Laden...

At least a dozen election workers and dozens of Afghan security officers
were killed in the run-up to the election, which Taliban militants had
threatened to disrupt as part of their campaign to drive out foreign
troops and topple U.S.-backed interim leader Hamid Karzai.

The violence curtailed voter registration in the south and east of the
country, a conservative land where the Taliban continues to derive
support. But officials said voting had to be abandoned in only one
southern district because of violence the notorious Daychopan area of
Zabul province where militants clashed with Afghan troops.

Afghan officials said 100,000 police and troops including about 27,000
foreign soldiers, most of them Americans were involved in the operation
to secure the election. Some fought with militants in Uruzgan province,
prompting U.S. airstrikes that Gov. Jan Mohammed Khan said killed 25
militants and one civilian.

I say:

Between this and some controversy over ink, it was hardly a picture
perfect election. But it wasn't half bad for a first time ever.
Practise makes perfect. Anyway, the monitors are happy. And even
the United Nations monitors aren't showing much sympathy to the
candidates calling the elections unfair.

Even the BBC says it was good.

Excerpt:

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said
demands by 15 of the 18 presidential candidates to annul the poll were
"unjustified".

The local Free and Fair Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (FEFA) said
the poll was "fairly democratic".

We have to wait until the ballots are counted to know who won. But
we already know who lost - the Taliban and other haters of democracy.
They did their worst, and the election happened regardless. I dare say
they've shot their wad.

Next up, Iraq in January.

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