Council on Foreign Relations

- Afghanistan election commission declares Karzai president.
- Pakistan bombing kills at least thirty people.
- North Korea presses for bilateral talks with United States.
- CIT Group declares Chapter 11.

Afghanistan's election commission has declared that Hamid Karzai has won the country's presidential election after rival Abdullah Abdullah withdrew from the race and the commission called off a November 7 runoff.

Meanwhile, UN chief Ban Ki-moon visited Kabul (AFP) in an effort to help resolve the political crisis, arranging meetings with both Karzai and Abdullah, according to officials.

Abdullah's withdrawal threatens to cast doubts over the legitimacy of the next government, and to intensify the U.S. debate over whether the Obama administration should send forty thousand more troops (Reuters) to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. 

Analysis

The New York Times reports that the United States will face new challenges (NYT) in supporting Karzai, a de-legitimized president accused of widespread fraud. Administration officials say Karzai will have to regain legitimacy by changing the way he governs.

In Foreign Policy, Robert Haddick says U.S. officials' decision to report that President Karzai's brother was a paid intelligence source to the Central Intelligence Agency will make the U.S. task in Afghanistan even harder. 

CFR's Max Boot says in the Weekly Standard that U.S. General Stanley McChrystal should be given the chance to boost what he says is a small and ill-equipped Afghan soldier and police forces.

On Monday, November 2 CFR and Politico.com will co-host a live chat with CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot on U.S. strategy in Afghanistan. The live chat is open to all and will take place from 12:00pm until 1:00pm ET. To participate, visit shortly before noon to register and submit your question.

Background

CFR expert Stephen Biddle's testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the war in Afghanistan can be viewed here.

In her last stop on a weeklong Mideast trip, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Marrakech (NYT) Sunday for meetings with Arab leaders to discuss the Middle East peace process. Clinton has commended Israel for unprecedented concessions aimed at restarting peace talks with the Palestinians.

Iran: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the country has requested a review (BBC) of the UN-brokered deal over its nuclear program due to "some technical and economic considerations."

At least thirty people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack (al-Jazeera) targeting workers lined up outside a bank and hotel in Rawalpindi, a Pakistani city near the capital of Islamabad. The attack occurred near Pakistan's army headquarters.

North Korea pressed again (NYT) for bilateral talks with the United States and warned that it was "ready to go our own way." with its nuclear weapons program. The comments, from an unidentified spokesman from North Korea's foreign ministry, came after informal talks with U.S. officials last week.

Myanmar: China and neighboring countries are moving ahead on a multibillion-dollar oil-and-gas pipeline project that will lend Myanmar more financial strength (WSJ) and political clout in the region. Meanwhile, the United States is seeking to weaken the Myanmar regime due to its suppression of political opposition and ethnic separatists.

UN peacekeepers have been ordered to stop working (BBC) with some army units in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after a UN official determined that the army intentionally targeted and killed sixty-two civilians. Human rights activists have accused the army of killing ethnic Hutus in eastern DRC during operations against Rwandan Hutu rebels.

Zimbabwe: Opening talks for the Kimberley Process, the global system established to prevent gems trade from fuelling armed conflicts, will focus on demands (AFP) to suspend Zimbabwe's international diamond trade, after an investigation found "horrific" abuses by the army against civilians in the country's eastern Marange diamond fields.

Small and midsized business lender CIT Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (WSJ). To avoid a run on the bank, CIT created a reorganization plan to speed through Chapter 11 and establish a new business model by year's end.

Honduras: The New York Times reports that four months of political turmoil (NYT) over the disputed Honduran presidency have caused long-term economic damage and stunted newly attracted international investment and tourism.

The Royal Bank of Scotland announced that the European Union is demanding that it sell off more of its operations (Guardian) as part of its government-sponsored recovery plan. The bank will likely be forced to sell its insurance operations, hundreds of branch offices, and its U.S. retail arm, Citizens Bank.

EU: An EU-U.S. summit Tuesday will focus heavily on climate change in an attempt to negotiate each side's position (EU Observer) ahead of the international summit on the issue in Copenhagen next month.

The Economist reports that in the next few years, half the world will move to "replacement-level fertility," meaning that half of human beings will only be having enough children to maintain their population level.