Hamid Karzai

Analysts say Afghanistan’s sitting President Hamid Karzai, who registered himself for second term in office early this week, is better placed to win the upcoming presidential election albeit with a lesser margin.
According to Xinhua, 44 aspirants have signed up for the country’s top job during the nomination campaign that closed on Friday.
The two-week process began on April 25. Prominent among the prospective candidates, besides Karzai, are ex-finance minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, former Attorney General Abdul Jabbar Sabit, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, law-maker Ramazan Bashardost, two female legislators and a Saudi Arabia- based businessman Syed Jalal.
Serious contest is likely between Karzai and Abdullah, who represents the opposition National Front Alliance, an umbrella of over a dozen religious, democratic, and secular groups.
Although Karzai seems to have lost most of his popularity among the people - due to his government’s failure to ensure security, curb corruption and alleviate poverty - he still has the potential heavy weight in the race.
Both observers and opposition politicians believe that the sitting president is better placed to utilize his authority to sweep the polls.
Abdul Jabbar Sabit, a rival candidate, has already doubted the transparency of the vote as he believes that the incumbent president would employ state machinery to ensure his victory.
He has objected that the Independent Election Commission (IEC) accorded a red carpet welcome to Karzai when he visited its office early this week to register, adding that the national television gave full coverage of the process while the rest of the candidates were almost totally ignored.
To bolster his position and further change the environment in his favor, the ambitious Karzai even brought Mohammad Qasim Fahim, a former defense minister and key leader of the National Front, to his side and thus divided the main opposition alliance.
Karzai’s term as president, according to the country’s constitution, expires on May 21, but the Supreme Court of Afghanistan, in a ruling last month, authorized him to remain in power until the presidential poll is held.

Opposition Claim
The National Unity Council of Afghanistan, another opposition alliance, has described the decision as an attempt by the president to stay in power and manipulate a second term in office.
During his eight-year rule as interim, then transitional and finally elected president of the war-torn country, the Karzai administration failed to root out the Taliban militants, ensure durable stability, eradicate poppy cultivation, alleviate poverty, and stamp out corruption.
Though there have been some achievements over the past eight years, yet the failure in the above fields has caused disappointment at home and abroad. “We need an efficient president to ensure our security, ensure social justice, and improve our living standard,“ Nadira, a 48- year old widow, told Xinhua, when asked to comment on the presidential election.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had earlier described Afghanistan as a “narco-state“ and stressed the need for reform. On the day of registering Karzai had admitted to mistakes during his rule, but vowed to serve the nation if reelected.
Critics, however, said his reputation has been dented compared to 2004.“Reposing trust in Karzai and mandating him to rule the country for a second time means to back the continuation of corruption, injustice, bad governance, and eventually collapse of the administration,“ said Jahangir, an ordinary citizen.
In the first presidential election in 2004, Karzai had secured some 55 percent of nearly 9 million votes cast, becoming the first elected president in post-Taliban Afghanistan.

US President Barack Obama announced that he had renewed sanctions against the nation of Syria because of “serious concerns“ about the nation’s behavior.
In a letter informing Congress of his decision, the president accused Syria of “pursuing weapons of mass destruction,“ and “undermining US and international efforts with respect to the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq,“ and for generally posing a “continuing threat to US interests.“
The United States has recently been engaged in high-level talks with the Syrian government on numerous issues, and the administration has assured the nation that it is committed to an Israel-Syria peace deal. Since the later comment (and the declaration that bilateral relations had significantly improved) was made only, it seems remarkable that the administration is suddenly taking a hostile approach to the nation, Antiwar reported.
US-Syrian relations were extremely strained under the Bush Administration, even before an October, 2008 attack by US helicopters on a Syrian border town. The former administration also pressured the IAEA to act against Syria on the basis of claims it made about a facility destroyed by Israeli warplanes. The IAEA found only minute traces of evidence in its investigation, which was hampered by the fact that the site was destroyed months before it was even informed about it.
Obama’s accusation that Syria is “pursuing weapons of mass destruction“ may be an indication that allegations about the site remain a priority for the US.

Golan Case
Israeli hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Tel Aviv will never return the occupied Golan Heights to Syria.
Benjamin Netanyahu made the remarks in an interview with Russian-language reporters on Friday, saying “remaining on the Golan will ensure Israel has a strategic advantage in cases of military conflict with Syria“, Israeli online daily, Haaretz reported.
Israel seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the Syrian territory in 1981, a move never recognized by the international community.
Syria wants the return of all of the Golan Heights, saying the strategic Golan Heights will always belong to Syria and Israel’s departure from Golan is the only way to peace.

Barack Obama

President Barack Obama will make his long-awaited address to Muslims in Egypt on June 4, accelerating his bid to mend the US image in the Islamic world from an epicenter of Arab civilization.
According to AFP, the speech, fulfilling an Obama campaign promise, will focus on how Americans and Muslims abroad can secure the “safety and security“ of their children in a more hopeful future, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said.
The trip, certain to unfold amid a massive security operation, will come as Obama tries to ignite stalled Middle East peace efforts, and will represent his most significant attempt yet to engage the Muslim world.
Arabs and Muslim believers across the world have been alienated by the war in Iraq, abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib jail outside Baghdad and the Guantanamo Bay “war on terror“ camp which Obama has ordered closed.
Gibbs said that the exact venue for the speech had yet to be decided, but most speculation will center on Cairo, the capital of Egypt, the most populous nation in the Arab world.
“On June 4, the president will give a speech in Egypt. The speech will be about America’s relations with the Muslim world,“ Gibbs said.
He added that there were no plans for Obama to make any further stops in the Middle East during the visit, which will precede a trip to France and Germany focusing on World War II commemorations.
The president promised during his 2008 election campaign to make a speech at a major Islamic forum within the first 100 days of his administration which ended last week, but the timetable slipped for logistical reasons.