Military Working Dogs Return Home from Afghanistan 14.05.14
As Operation Herrick 19 comes to an end in Afghanistan, it #39;s not just soldiers that are heading home for a well deserved rest. The Military Working Dogs are also undergoing a changeover, some...
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Military Working Dogs Return Home from Afghanistan 14.05.14 - Video
Human Eat By Tiger and Lion Attack Kabul Zoo Afghanistan
By: Gunjan Reniya
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Human Eat By Tiger and Lion Attack Kabul Zoo Afghanistan - Video
May 11, 2014: Afghan presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah, left, and Afghan presidential candidate Zalmai Rassoul, right, listen during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Massoud Hossaini)
KABUL, Afghanistan Afghanistan's election commission announced on Thursday that the country's presidential election is going into second round, with the two top vote getters to face off on June 14.
The race will likely be tight between the two contenders, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and ex-Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.
The second round will coincide with the height of the Taliban spring offensive that was launched earlier this week. The insurgency has renewed its campaign of attacks on the Afghan police and military -- increasing fears over security when voters head to the polls.
The Taliban have pledged to disrupt the vote with bombings and other attacks, although the first round on April 5 was relatively free of violence.
Abdullah garnered 45 percent of votes in the first round while Ahmadzai came in second with 31.6 percent, Independent Election Commission Chairman Ahmad Yousuf Nouristan said.
The final results announced by Nouristan were almost exactly the same as the preliminary results released late last month. The runoff will take place June 14, Nouristan said.
Earlier this week, Abdullah picked up a potential election-tipping endorsement in Zalmai Rassoul, an ex-foreign minister who took 11.5 percent in the first round.
But it's unclear whether Rassoul can deliver the votes of his supporters, who are largely Pashtuns, the country's largest ethnic group.
International attention is also focused on whether the new president will sign a deal already negotiated by outgoing President Hamid Karzai to allow some U.S. forces to stay in Afghanistan after the end of the year.
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Afghanistan election commission confirms June 14 runoff vote
The U.S. government isnt doing enough to fight corruption in Afghanistan, the top American watchdog for the country said Wednesday, raising the concern that much of the effort and the $103 billion that has been given to rebuild the war-torn nation is being lost to graft.
Corruption is really the big issue, John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), told a gathering at the Middle East Institute, a D.C. think tank.
SEE ALSO: Operation American Spring to hit D.C. to oust Obama, Biden, Boehner, Holder
He added that he had heard from military commanders in the field that corruption is more serious in Afghanistan than the insurgency.
Not only does it waste money, it prevents helpful projects from being completed, robs the Afghan people of the resources they need and makes them lose faith in their government, Mr. Sopko told his audience.
He pointed to the 2010 downfall of the Kabul Bank, Afghanistans largest private financial institution, whose collapse drastically harmed the nations economy. The biggest driver in the banks collapse was $935 million skimmed and stolen, the vast majority of it 92 percent by just 19 people.
It shows how the patronage system and the failure to prosecute people guilty of gross fraud and abuse is undermining the Afghan economy and putting future development efforts at risk, Mr. Sopko said.
Its a sentiment that was echoed in April by retired Gen. John Allen, who once led U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
The great challenge to Afghanistans future isnt the Taliban, or the Pakistani safe havens or even an incipiently hostile Pakistan, Gen. Allen told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee in testimony this spring. The existential threat to the long-term viability of modern Afghanistan is corruption.
SEE ALSO: No, Uncle Sam doesnt really want YOU: Military now turns down 80% of applicants
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Afghanistan corruption still severe problem, U.S. watchdog says
US ARMY | HIMARS - Marine rocket shooting in Afghanistan | U.S. Marines
us army|military|navy|marines|marine|air force|united states U.S. Marines with Romeo Battery, 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment (5/11), Regimental Combat Team 7 fire rockets from a M142...
By: U.S Army
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US ARMY | HIMARS - Marine rocket shooting in Afghanistan | U.S. Marines - Video