Afghans Fear Poll Attacks

This probably doesn’t bode well for voter turnout: “Afghanistan’s top security officials warned they were unable to guarantee the security of this week’s elections, despite efforts to buy off Taliban insurgents,” according to the Financial Times. Abdul Rahim Wardak, the defense minister, said on Sunday, “To be 100 percent sure that you can defend against the type of enemy you are dealing with, which has no respect for human dignity, will be very difficult. There is no doubt that the security forces of the International Security Assistance Forces and those of Afghanistan are not enough to secure this much area.” Wardak’s comment came after a suicide attack on Saturday inside the NATO headquarters in Kabul—the first suicide attack in the capital in eight months.