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Further Reading

Afghanistan - Introduction

Afghanistan's Constitutional Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) approved a 162-article constitution on 04 January 2004, establishing a presidential system of government with a bicameral legislature, enshrining equal rights for men and women and scheduling national elections later in the year. Behind-the-scenes negotiations led to a breakthrough on disputes that had threatened to derail the assembly after 16 days spent amending and debating a document to replace the revised 1964 constitution.The main split at the assembly was between the Pashtun supporters of Karzai's government and the Tajiks, Uzbeks, and other minority ethnic groups led by former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, Uzbek Commander Abdul Rashid Dostum and Islamic conservative Abdul Rabb al-Rasul Sayyaf. One issue that delayed the agreement was over the status of the national language. Dari and Pushto would be the two official languages, but the tongue of northern minority groups were been granted official status in their respective regions. The formal ratification of the country's seventh written constitution fulfilled a major goal of the internationally sanctioned Bonn process, paving the way for democratic presidential elections.

On 06 January 2004 the coalition-led provincial reconstruction team (PRT) at Konduz transferred authority to NATO, signifying the expanded responsibilities of the alliance-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) outside of Kabul. PRTs are small teams of civilian and military personnel working in Afghanistan's provinces to provide security for aid workers and help with reconstruction work. The German-led team was the first of six teams under the command of the US-led coalition forces in Afghanistan transferred to NATO control, marking another milestone in planned expansion of the PRT program over the next several months.

While this was a heartening sign of progress, optimism was tempered by continued instability and inter-ethnic conflict throughout the country. After over twenty years of civil war, there remains a strong sense among the main groups--southern-based Pashtuns and northern groups including Tajiks and Uzbeks--that regional interests come second to a pan-Afghan identity. Doubt prevailed over the ability of Afghan officials to enforce a transition timetable that envisions a presidential election in the summer of 2004. Afghanistan remains an unstable place, where Al Qaeda loyalists continue to launch attacks against government forces, and officials in Kabul struggle to curtail the influence of regional warlords. Security remained the main concern, as government attempts to build security capacity flagged. According to a January 12 report published by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, up to a third of the estimated 10,000 troops in the Afghan national army had deserted.

By March 2004, President Hamid Karzai postponed Afghanistan's first post-Taliban elections, originally scheduled in June, to September 2004. At the conclusion of an international summit in Berlin on March 31st, Afghanistan secured $8.2 billion in aid over the next three years. Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani said $4.4 billion in aid had been promised for the year 2004 alone, adding that $1 billion a year of the aid money would be spent on enhancing security in Afghanistan. The biggest contributor was the United States, which has offered $1 billion in addition to the $1.2 billion it had already committed for this year. The promised aid at the conference fell short of the Afghan government's hopes.

Afghanistan is at risk of becoming a "narco-state" unless immediate measures are implemented to contain drug trafficking. The US-led campaign against terrorism could face a devastating setback in Afghanistan as the explosion in opium cultivation threatens to ruin stabilization efforts. Despite a ban imposed by the central government, opium production continued to boom in Afghanistan. According to UNODC, 3,600 metric tons of opium originated in Afghanistan in 2003, a 6 percent increase over the previous year. More than $1 billion was generated by trade in narcotics, close to half of the Afghan GDP and possibly greater than the total amount of reconstruction funds. The UNODC reports that opium is now a cash crop in 28 of Afghanistan's 32 provinces, compared to 18 provinces in 1999. The country supplies up to 90% of the heroin consumed in Europe, and officials are worried by a rising trend in heroin and opium use inside Afghanistan. The drug trade contributes to problems of government corruption and serves as a major source of power for warlords and militias around the country, further fuelling terrorism. At a February 8-9 conference in Kabul that explored situations to the narcotics crisis, Karzai appealed for international assistance to fund a four-year, $300 million plan to reduce cultivation by 70 percent. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO) appealed for funding for alternative crop cultivation programs, declaring that opium production threatens the restoration of law and order in Afghanistan.

By 15 February 2004, only 8 percent of eligible voters had been recorded on voter lists, and civilian and military casualty tolls mounted by the day as a result of violent unrest in all parts of the country. Afghan President Hamid Karzai's administration maintained its determination to adhere to the existing election timetable by planning a massive voter-registration drive. Afghanistan's tenuous security environment continues to threaten the election, particularly as a major government initiative to improve security, a UN-sponsored disarmament program, struggles to fulfill its aims. The authority of Karzai's administration does not extend far beyond Kabul, and warlords remain in firm control of many parts of the country, while Taliban insurgents move to fill the power vacuum in contested areas.

US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Afghanistan on 26 February 2004 to observe reconstruction efforts in the southern city of Kandahar. He later travelled to Kabul for talks with President Karzai, in which they sought to strengthen efforts to ensure stability. There was little evidence that the security environment was improving; just the day before, five Afghan NGO workers were killed by Taliban militants. Since August 2003, over 550 individuals have died in political-related violence, including scores of Islamic militants killed in clashes with US troops and Afghan security forces. Karzai's administration would redouble efforts to disarm warlord militia units before elections were held, although disarmament efforts to date have accomplished little, with only an estimated 5000 militia fighters entering the demobilization program. The government hopes to disarm approximately 40,000 militia fighters.

March 2004 witnessed violence in western Herat province as fighting began on 21 March between forces loyal to the regional warlord Ismail Khan and Afghan army units under General Abdul Zahir Nayebzadeh, who professes loyalty to Karzai's administration. The clashes, which involved tanks and mortars, occurred after an unsuccessful assassination attempt against Khan. Gunmen killed the warlord's son, Mirwai Sadeq a few hours later. Sadeq was the minister of civil aviation and tourism in Karzai's cabinet. Khan loyalists blamed Nayebzadeh for the incidents, accusing the general of trying to overthrow the regional leadership.

On 22 March 2004 the central government dispatched a 1500-strong force headed by Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim to restore order in the region. He established a cease-fire that would allow for a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding Sadeq's death, and sought Khan's support for the central government. The next day around 1500 Afghan National Army soldiers had been deployed to Herat with the promise of more troops to "ensure security, prevent regional clashes and show the presence of the central government in Herat province." The entry of Afghan National Army troops into Herat marked the first time since the demise of the Taliban in late 2001 that Kabul had forces in Ismail Khan's province.

Khan is one of many regional warlords who have been acting independently of central government control since the fall of the Taliban. Despite a May 2003 pledge to recognize the preeminence of the central government and promises to adhere to the chain of command, Khan and others, including ethnic Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum, have largely disregarded Kabul.

The lack of governmental cohesion is an underlying cause of the instability that plagues Afghanistan and threatens the nation's future. On 14 July 2004, Karzai signed a decree pledging to crack down on warlords and militia commanders who resist the internationally backed process of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration program, also known as DDR.

On May 6, 2004 approximately 2200 US Marines were sent to operate from a new military base in central Afghanistan. The 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit established Forward Operating Base Ripely just outside Tirin Kot, the capital of Oruzgan Province. Suspected neo-Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants have been active in the province. U.S. military officials hope the new base, created to support the mission Taskforce Linebacker, will play a role in establishing security before the national elections in September.

On May 27, 2004, NATO led a 6500- member security force in the Kabul region and approved the expansion of the force's operating area beyond the capital in October. Turkey announced that it will provide additional assistance to the NATO-led ISAF, sending three helicopters and 56 flight and maintenance personnel to Afghanistan on 29 May 2004.The NATO Istanbul summit in June discussed further deployments to Afghanistan. Heads of state and governments of NATO member states meeting in Istanbul decided on 28 June to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan serving with the ISAF from 6500 to 10,000.

The alliance took command of four new Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in northern Afghanistan. The new PRTs are based in Balkh, Badakhshan, Baghlan, and Faryab provinces. From these bases, the PRT in Konduz that was commanded by NATO, and temporary "satellite" presences in Jowzjan, Samangan, and Sar-e Pol provinces In anticipation of an increase in activities of neo-Taliban and to safeguard Afghanistan's general elections scheduled for September, the United States increased the number of its troops in the country from 11,000 to 20,000 at the end of May.

2004 Election

Voter registration efforts accelerated in May, with nearly 1 million new voters registered, bringing the overall number to 2.7 million registered voters out of a total of 10 million eligible citizens. Government officials expect the election process to receive a boost from the US-led coalition's deployment of 10 Provincial Reconstruction Teams in the south, southeast and east of Afghanistan by the end of July. On 27 May 2004 President Karzai signed a new election law, the first of the postwar period, guaranteeing a single vote to every citizen age 18 and over, and stating that the presidential candidate will win by a simple majority. The UN-backed Joint Electoral Management Body announced its final list on 27 July of candidates registered to compete in October's presidential election, Afghanistan Television reported. The list of 23 individuals was comprised of 19 independents and four candidates representing specific political parties or coalitions.

• Mohammad Mohaqeq His running mate was Nasir Ahmad Ensaf; his second running mate was Abdul Fayaz Mehrayin. While Mohaqeq was a leader of the Wahdat party, he was listed as an independent candidate.
• Mir Abu Taleb Kazemi He has not yet announced his running mates. Independent candidate
• Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai His first running mate was Obaydullah Obayd; his second running mate was Abdul Manan Oruzgani. Ahamdzai was a member of the Harakat-e Enqelab-e Eslami party, but was listed as an independent candidate.
• Abdul Hakim Zazai He has not yet announced his running mates. Independent candidate.
• Abdul Latif Pedram. His first running mate was Haji Ahmad Niro; his second running mate was Mohammad Qasem Masumi. [According to a report by Bakhtar Information Agency, Pedram's running mates are Mohammad Qasem Masumi and Ahmad Munir.] Pedram was the candidate of the Afghan National Congress Party.
• Gholam Faruq Nejrabi His first running mate was Abdul Fatah; his second running mate was Abdul Hanan. Nejrabi was the candidate of the Afghan Independence Party.
• Abdul Hafez Mansur. His first running mate was Sayyed Mohammad Eqbal Munib; his second running mate was Mohammad Ayyub Qasemi. Masur was a member of Jam'iat-e Islami party but was listed as an independent candidate.
• Abdul Sattar Sirat. His first running mate was Qazi Mohammad Amin Weqad; his second running mate was Abdul Qader Emami. Independent candidate.
• Masuda Jalal. Her first running mate was Mir Habib Sohaili; her second running mate was Sayyed Mohammad Alem Amini. Independent candidate. The only female presidential hopeful.
• Abdul Hadi Khalilzai His first running mate was Khodai Nur Mandokhel; his second running mate was Khoda Dad Erfani. Independent candidate.
• Abdul Rashid Dostum His first running mate was Shafiqa Habibi; his second running mate was Mostafa Kamal Makhdum. Dostum was the head of Junbish-e Melli-ye Islami party but was listed as an independent candidate.
• Sayyed Eshaq Gelani His first running mate was Mohammad Esma'il Qasemyar; his second running mate was Barialay Nasrati. Gailani is the candidate of the National Solidarity Movement of Afghanistan.
• Hamid Karzai. His first running mate was Ahmad Zia Mas'ud; his second running mate was Mohammad Karim Khalili. Independent candidate.
• Mohammad Mahfuz Nedayi His first running mate was Sayyed Mohammad Aref Ebrahimkhayl; his second running mate was Mohammad Hakim Karimi. Independent candidate.
• Wakil Mangal. His first running mate was Mohammad Yunos Moghol; his second running mate was Dina Gol. Independent candidate.
• Sayyed Abdul Hadi Dabir His first running mate was Abdul Rashid; his second running mate was Dad Mohammad Khan. Independent candidate.
• Abdul Hasib Aryan. His first running mate was Del Aqa Shekayb; his second running mate was Sayyed Mohammad Zaman Ahmadyar. Independent candidate.
• Homayun Shah Asefi. His first running mate was Mohammad Hashem Esmatullah; his second running mate was Tajwar Kakar. Independent candidate.
• Safdar Sadeqi Yakawlangi. His first running mate was Hayatillah Abed; his second running mate was Mohamamd Ebrahim. Independent candidate.
• Mohammad Halim Tanwir His first running mate was Jamil al-Rahman Kamgar. His second running mate has not been announced. Independent candidate.
• Mohammad Ebrahim Rashid. His first running mate was Sayyed Mohammad Hadi Hadi; his second running mate was Hamid Taheri. Independent candidate.
• Mohammad Yunos Qanuni. His first running mate was Taj Mohammad Wardak; his second running mate was Sayyed Hosayn Alemi Balkhi. Qanuni was the candidate of the Afghan National Movement.
• Khoshhal Yasini His running mates have not been announced. Independent candidate.

The list of independents included Karzai, who was not affiliated with any political party, and General Abdul Rashid Dostum, the head of the powerful Junbish-e Melli-e Islami-ye Afghanistan, which was backed by its own military units. Attacks on voter-registration sites continue throughout the country as Neo-Taliban elements vowed to disrupt the upcoming Afghan elections. President Karzai commented in a July 12th interview with the New York Times that Afghanistan's warlord armies, not Taliban insurgents, posed the greatest risk to his country's security. Previously, attacks on aid workers and election officials staged by suspected neo-Taliban guerillas worried the fledgling government in Kabul. But Karzai put dangers posed by militias first, saying they threaten to hamper progress toward nationwide presidential elections scheduled for 9 October. Just 10,000 of Afghanistan's estimated 60,000 fighters have been disarmed, and disarmament efforts led by the United Nations have recently slowed.

On 28 July 2004, Brussels-based Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced that it was closing all of its medical program in Afghanistan amid a rising number of ambushes on humanitarian workers in the country. The MSF took the decision to withdraw after five of its staff members were killed in June. Such "targeted killing" of MSF aid workers "is unprecedented" in the history of the organization, the statement added. According to MSF, while the Afghan administration presented "credible evidence that local commanders conducted the attack," it "neither detained nor publicly called for their arrest." The statement added that the "lack of government response to the killings represents a failure of responsibility and an inadequate commitment to the safety of aid workers on its soil."

After delays from the original timetable, Afghanistan on 9 October 2004 held democratic presidential elections which, in spite of allegations of fraud and intimidation, were largely violence-free and enjoyed a wide voter turnout. Karzai won outright with 56% of the vote. Though many Afghans viewed the outcome as pre-ordained by the US, and opposition candidates initiated an mid-election-day boycott after irregularities surfaced, the runner-up conceded defeat on 24 October 2004, and international observers were generally pleased with events.