Ex-Taliban Foreign Minister Says He Will Run in Afghan Legislative....

[sabra]

<<SNIP>>
http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB3V9JLV8E.html

Ex-Taliban Foreign Minister Says He Will Run in Afghan Legislative Elections


KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) - A former foreign minister for Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime said Wednesday he would be a candidate in the country's upcoming parliamentary elections.
Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, who is considered a relative moderate, surrendered to U.S. forces in the southern city of Kandahar in 2003 and was held by the U.S. military at its main base in Bagram, north of Kabul. He recently was freed after being under house arrest in Kabul.

Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, who is considered a relative moderate, surrendered to U.S. forces in the southern city of Kandahar in 2003 and was held by the U.S. military at its main base in Bagram, north of Kabul. He recently was freed after being under house arrest in Kabul.

"I have the right to be an independent candidate," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I am doing this for the sake of the people of Afghanistan. If I win, I will work for the peace and development of Afghanistan."

....

But when asked if he still had ties with the Taliban, Muttawakil said: "The Taliban are also Afghans. The public must decide who they want as their leaders, whether it's the Taliban or someone else."

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[rodeodance]

1. hey bush--is this your plan?

[Tempest]

2. The Muttawakil death watch begins

No way the U.S. will allow him to run.

With the support the Taliban have outside of Kabal, he'll win. And it will give an incentive for other Taliban members to run. And before you know it, Afghanistan is back in Taliban control.

[Erika]

3. Bush has said we will let our occupied countries choose

their own government.

[Tempest]

4. You mean like he allowed Iraq to choose their own government?

Oh, wait.

Iraqis weren't allowed to run if they were once associated with the Baath party.

So much for that.