Who would have guessed that there is even more trouble in the Bush showcase account for democratic change? If Americans wake up and actually start paying attention to this "success story" they're going to see that it's yet another failure of this administration. We've already been reading about massive voter fraud (more registered voters than actual voters) and we know that we can't control the countryside beyond Kabul and now we're looking at US election manipulation to make sure that the right people win. Sounds like a Bush family reunion.
Mohammed Mohaqiq says he was getting ready to make his run for the Afghan presidency when U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad dropped by his campaign office and proposed a deal.
Mohaqiq was still determined to run for president — though, he said, the U.S. ambassador wouldn't give up trying to elbow him out of the race.
"He left, and then called my most loyal men, and the most educated people in my party or campaign, to the presidential palace and told them to make me — or request me — to resign the nomination. And he told my men to ask me what I need in return."
"It is not only me," Mohaqiq said. "They have been doing the same thing with all candidates. That is why all people think that not only Khalilzad is like this, but the whole U.S. government is the same. They all want Karzai — and this election is just a show."
The charges were repeated by several other candidates and their senior campaign staff in interviews here. They reflected anger over what many Afghans see as foreign interference that could undermine the shaky foundations of a democracy the U.S. promised to build.
