Afghans in South Fearful of Taking Part in Election

At the 19th century fortress once occupied by the British army, Maj. Abdul Qadir narrowed his eyes and looked at the crumbling walls when asked whether Afghans supported the Americans.

In a country that has seen many foreign armies come and go, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the Afghan army took his time replying. Finally, he said: “The Afghans want the Americans here, not the Taliban. But they are waiting to see which force will stay longer.”

Here in the heartland of the Taliban resistance, the U.S.-led coalition is in the middle of Operation Lightning Resolve, a quasi-humanitarian military operation aimed at ridding four southern provinces of militants and paving the way for democracy.

The Americans and Qadir’s battalion are also helping the United Nations identify as many voters in Zabol province as possible before the Oct. 9 presidential election. The national deadline for voter registration was Aug. 1, but in Zabol it was extended until today because of poor security.

Bringing democracy to Zabol has proved difficult: Fewer than half of the 124,000 eligible people have received voter cards, and only 8% of those are female. By contrast, more than 90% of the estimated 10 million eligible voters have registered nationwide, and about 40% are women.

Qadir said people in Zabol were too scared to participate.

“When we go to a village, we persuade people to take part in elections, but when we leave the Taliban threatens them,” he said. “The Americans need to stay. Otherwise, I don’t know what would happen to us.”

In Kabul, posters are slowly appearing on street corners and the political mudslinging between the 18 presidential candidates has begun. By contrast, there is no buzz on the streets of Qalat, the provincial capital of Zabol, about 220 miles southwest of Kabul.

At the U.N. voter registration office at the local girls school, Rajiabia, 46, an election worker, and her three colleagues were waiting to give identification cards to women. No one had come that morning.

“It’s obvious we are afraid,” said Rajiabia, who, like many Afghans, uses only one name. “On average we get 10 to 12 women a day, which is not bad. But we go from house to house to tell women to come. The mullahs don’t like it, and a lot of women come in secret because they are too scared.”

Zabol province is so isolated that when the U.S. Army’s 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, arrived in the remote districts of Arghandab and Khak-i-Afghan last month to hunt down the Taliban, the residents thought the Soviets had invaded again.

They had never seen, or heard of, the U.S. forces because the areas were in the firm control of the Taliban, said Maj. Joseph Walsh, the executive officer of the battalion.

But after a mission involving air assaults with a B-1 bomber and a Black Hawk helicopter, security has improved to such an extent that 1,000 Afghans have registered in Arghandab.

“We have B-1 bombers flying 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in Zabol,” Walsh said. “Sometimes it is a show of force, so if you have a 500-pound bomb possibly in your backyard, then you might be reluctant to cause trouble.”

But Lightning Resolve has come at a cost. This month, eight U.S. soldiers were hurt in two attacks.

U.N. election workers also have been targeted. The latest deadly attack came Aug. 6 in neighboring Oruzgan province as 30 militants fired at an armed election convoy, killing two Afghan workers. A third man is still missing. In total, 12 election workers have been killed across the country and at least 33 have been injured.

Is the country ready for an election?

Capt. Todd Schmidt, a military liaison officer to the U.N. here, paused for a few seconds.

“Having been an American, and living in America my whole life, Americans are supremely optimistic,” he said. “We always see hope. Part of what we are trying to do is sow those seeds of hope.”

He also insisted that the security situation was improving.

“I think the entire world is aware of the perceptions here, but that is not always the reality,” he said. “The perception is that targets are against us, but that is minimal.”

But Rahman Wafa, an officer with the 1st Battalion of the Afghan army, said the Taliban was as strong as ever.

“In Khak-i-Afghan district, we went and distributed voter registration cards with our American brothers,” he said. “The next day, some people said to us that the night we left the village, Talibs came and gathered all of the cards and took them away.”

Running his forefinger across his throat, he added, “They also told the villagers that anyone who took cards again would have their throats slit.”