Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah

President Hamid Karzai said he will not take part in Afghanistan's first major televised presidential debate, leaving his top two challengers to talk between themselves -- if they show up. Karzai, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani had been scheduled to debate today. But after Karzai pulled out, an aide to Abdullah said he might not participate either. Karzai's campaign said he wouldn't take part because more of the 41 presidential candidates weren't invited.

The supplicants had come from all over the north of Afghanistan. Bowing as they made their way to the front of the ornate reception room, they bent one by one to kiss the hand of power. Gov. Atta Mohammad Noor, the bushy beard of his days as a rough-hewn mujahedin commander long since replaced by fashionable stubble, had the satisfied look of a man receiving his due. Atta, whom some critics call the personification of Afghanistan's deeply entrenched warlord culture, represents a quandary for the nations that supply the country with tens of thousands of troops and billions of dollars in aid. The United States and its allies are considering ways to skirt the corruption-tainted central government and invest local and provincial officials with more authority.

An apparent suicide bombing outside a major U.S. military base in the Afghan capital killed at least two Afghans early today, witnesses and officials said. The attack took place on a main road at the eastern edge of Kabul, outside an installation known as Camp Phoenix. Witnesses said it appeared that at least two military vehicles were caught in the blast. American military officials did not immediately confirm whether there were military casualties, and provided no other details about the attack.

In an unexpected show of defiance, Afghan lawmakers Saturday rejected 17 of President Hamid Karzai's 24 nominees for Cabinet posts, including a powerful warlord. Afghanistan's political scene has been in a state of shambles for months, as the Obama administration prepares for one of the biggest and fastest troop buildups of the conflict, which is in its ninth year. About 30,000 more U.S. troops are to be deployed in Afghanistan this year, and senior commanders have said the buildup will be crucial in 2010 to halt the growing momentum of the Taliban-led insurgency.

Afghan authorities plan to close thousands of polling stations and hire new poll workers to discourage the fraud that tarnished the August presidential election and forced a runoff set for Nov. 7, U.N. officials said Wednesday. President Hamid Karzai's rival, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, announced Wednesday that he was preparing for the runoff election, a day after Karzai acknowledged under intense U.S. pressure that he fell short of the 50% threshold needed for victory in the Aug. 20 vote.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing outside a major U.S. military base on the outskirts of the capital today that injured at least two dozen people, including nine Western troops. The attack came on a busy road that connects Kabul with the eastern city of Jalalabad; it is heavily used by military vehicles and civilian cars alike, and Afghans have long complained of the danger to motorists who are caught up in insurgent attacks against Western forces. A bombing on the same stretch of road three months ago targeting a military convoy, killed eight people.

In an unexpected show of defiance, Afghan lawmakers Saturday rejected 17 of President Hamid Karzai's 24 nominees for Cabinet posts, including a powerful warlord. Afghanistan's political scene has been in a state of shambles for months, as the Obama administration prepares for one of the biggest and fastest troop buildups of the conflict, which is in its ninth year. About 30,000 more U.S. troops are to be deployed in Afghanistan this year, and senior commanders have said the buildup will be crucial in 2010 to halt the growing momentum of the Taliban-led insurgency.

In the first round of balloting, Afghan President Hamid Karzai received 1 million "ghost votes" from people who simply didn't exist. When those were eliminated, he lacked the requisite plurality and was pressed by his Western backers into agreeing to a runoff -- only to see his challenger drop out in anticipation of further fraud. Faced with a one-man race, the Independent Election Commission on Monday canceled the second round and returned Karzai to power for a second five-year term.

Hundreds of angry protesters in Afghanistan's capital burned an effigy of President Obamaon Sunday, acting on rumors that American troops had desecrated the Koran. U.S. military officials emphatically denied that any copies of the Muslim holy book had been mishandled, and accused the Taliban of spreading falsehoods to incite hatred against Western forces. But the protest -- reminiscent of similar demonstrations in Iraq and elsewhere in the Muslim world in recent years -- showed how easily passions involving religious sensitivities can be stirred up even with a dearth of evidence.

The disarray surrounding Afghanistan's presidential election deepened today when an Afghan member of the vote-reviewing commission quit, citing "foreign interference." The resignation of Mustafa Barakzai from the Electoral Complaints Commission was not expected to affect the panel's work of sifting through allegations of massive vote-rigging in the Aug. 20 balloting, officials said. But it added an acrimonious new element to a vote that has already become an exercise in recrimination -- and has left Afghanistan in political limbo at a time when crucial decisions about the course of the conflict are being made in Washington.

An apparent suicide bombing outside a major U.S. military base in the Afghan capital killed at least two Afghans early today, witnesses and officials said. The attack took place on a main road at the eastern edge of Kabul, outside an installation known as Camp Phoenix. Witnesses said it appeared that at least two military vehicles were caught in the blast. American military officials did not immediately confirm whether there were military casualties, and provided no other details about the attack.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for a suicide car bombing outside a major U.S. military base on the outskirts of the capital today that injured at least two dozen people, including nine Western troops. The attack came on a busy road that connects Kabul with the eastern city of Jalalabad; it is heavily used by military vehicles and civilian cars alike, and Afghans have long complained of the danger to motorists who are caught up in insurgent attacks against Western forces. A bombing on the same stretch of road three months ago targeting a military convoy, killed eight people.

In his first public comments since winning a second term, President Hamid Karzai pledged today to form an inclusive government and to tackle corruption. But he would not commit to specific measures advocated by U.S. and other Western officials to restore legitimacy to his administration after a chaotic election marred by massive fraud. Karzai said repeatedly that he was willing to work with all Afghans and would seek to unite the country. "My government will be for all Afghans, and all those who want to work with me are most welcome, regardless of whether they opposed me in the election or they supported me in the election," Karzai told a news briefing at the heavily guarded presidential palace.

Electoral officials today canceled Saturday's planned Afghan presidential runoff and declared incumbent Hamid Karzai the victor. The decision, announced by the government-appointed Independent Electoral Commission, ended more than two months of uncertainty stemming from an election that was marred by massive fraud. The U.S. and the United Nations quickly lined up in support of Karzai, who is to serve another five-year term. "We congratulate President Karzai on his victory in this historic election and look forward to working with him," the U.S. Embassy said in statement.

In the first round of balloting, Afghan President Hamid Karzai received 1 million "ghost votes" from people who simply didn't exist. When those were eliminated, he lacked the requisite plurality and was pressed by his Western backers into agreeing to a runoff -- only to see his challenger drop out in anticipation of further fraud. Faced with a one-man race, the Independent Election Commission on Monday canceled the second round and returned Karzai to power for a second five-year term.

President Hamid Karzai's only challenger today pulled out of next week's election runoff, saying the incumbent had turned down his demand for changes to prevent the rampant fraud that marred the first round of voting in August. The withdrawal of former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah threw into disarray a vote that U.S. officials and their allies had hoped would produce a credible partner in the fight against Taliban and Al Qaeda insurgents. Azizullah Lodin, head of the government-appointed Independent Election Commission, said the panel would have to consult lawyers before deciding whether to proceed with Saturday's vote with just one candidate.

The supplicants had come from all over the north of Afghanistan. Bowing as they made their way to the front of the ornate reception room, they bent one by one to kiss the hand of power. Gov. Atta Mohammad Noor, the bushy beard of his days as a rough-hewn mujahedin commander long since replaced by fashionable stubble, had the satisfied look of a man receiving his due. Atta, whom some critics call the personification of Afghanistan's deeply entrenched warlord culture, represents a quandary for the nations that supply the country with tens of thousands of troops and billions of dollars in aid. The United States and its allies are considering ways to skirt the corruption-tainted central government and invest local and provincial officials with more authority.

In a low-slung building tucked behind concrete blast barriers on the edge of the Afghan capital, the plain brown envelopes are opened one by one, and the complaint forms inside smoothed out and scrutinized by weary-eyed workers. One handwritten account tells of a gunman turning up at a polling place. Another describes a candidate brazenly handing out cash bribes. Yet another reports a ballot box filled with votes only moments after the start of polling. Nearly two weeks after Afghanistan's troubled presidential election, the task of sorting out allegations of fraud and intimidation has swelled.

With a week to go before a scheduled runoff election, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's challenger called a gathering of top supporters for today at which aides said he was likely to pull out. The threat of a withdrawal by former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah threw into disarray a vote that U.S. officials had hoped would produce a credible partner in Kabul. President Obama is deliberating over proposals to send thousands more U.S. troops, and having an Afghan government that voters accept is an important element in Washington's strategy to combat the Taliban and other insurgents.

Militants armed with automatic rifles, grenades and suicide vests attacked a guesthouse in central Kabul at dawn today, killing at least five U.N employees, including an American, U.N. and U.S. Embassy officials said. Three Afghans and the three attackers also were killed, said Sayed Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada, the Kabul criminal investigations police chief. People from at least four U.N. agencies were staying at the house, and there was some confusion about the death toll, with earlier reports saying six were dead.