A powerful Afghan warlord will challenge President Hamid Karzai in the country's historic October elections, his spokesman said Thursday. Abdul Rashid Dostum decided to run after securing support across the war-riven country's deep ethnic divides, spokesman Faizullah Zaki said.
| "Yar! I be Gen'ral Dostum! Vote fer me, or I'll run over yez wit' this here tank!" |
Thousands of supporters feted Dostum at a rally in a northern city, Zaki said. "He didn't want to depend on his own movement, he wanted more people to support him, and today the people showed that," Zaki said. "He will run for president." There was no immediate reaction from Karzai.
| Suggested reaction: welcome him and challenge him to a debate. |
| Debates in Afghanistan tend to involve artillery. |
| "And in closing, I'd like to add... ummm... Take that, yew varmint!" |
Dostum, like another half dozen likely challengers, lacks the national appeal to pose a direct threat to Karzai at the ballot box.
| On the other hand, he is more ferocious than most... |
A former communist and commander of a feared militia during the country's civil wars, he is widely mistrusted, especially in the Pashtun-dominated south.
"Dostum! Oh, hold me, Mahmoud!"
"I can't. He pulled me arms off!" |
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