. >> we're leaving kandahar cities, driving on the highway leading to helmand. one of the roads the taliban threat tone shut down are if the elections. the whole province is not safe. but further you drive from the city center, the fewer signs of government control are found. women are expected to wear a burqa because the taliban are active in this area. we are close to the panjwayi district. and one of the many leaflets the taliban have put up warning people against voting in the election. and then distributes them in many areas in the south. and this is why the very fact that it's still on the wall, means the taliban is here. and we aren't even able to get out of the car to film freely. kandahar city, just like the rest of kandahar province, according to the government's assessment, is a high-risk area. elections won't be held in two taliban-controlled districts. attacks are usual here, but not mortar strikes. mortars were fired into the heart of the city days before the vote. some people started to think twice about voting. >> translator: we won't vote if the

. >> reporter: kandahar city, just like the rest of kandahar province, according to the government's assessment is a high-risk area. elections won't be held in two taliban-controlled districts. attacks are usual here, but not mortar strikes. mortars were fired into the heart of the city days before the vote. some people started to think twice about voting. >> translator: we won't the situation is not like this. we don't want to risk our lives and the lives our families. >> reporter: but police commanders at the scene of the attack put on a brave face. >> translator: we give 100% asurance to the people kandahar to take part in the elections, and i want people to help us prevent any incidents happening. >> reporter: never before would you see afghan police patrolling in american humvees. authorities are confident the taliban won't be able to stop voters from heading to polling station. >> in case something happened, those will be i.d.s. which are difficult. or some sporadic shooting from outside of the city like from the districts but also we want to minimize those when we send forces

officials say the huge blast rocked the southern city of kandahar, which is the spiritual home of thens more wounded. a provincial council member said the blast targeted a japanese construction company that mostly hires pakistani engineers. >>> partial results are now in from afghanistan's presidential election. they show a slim margin separating incumbent president hamid karzai from his main rival, abdullah abdullah. election officials stress only 10% of last week's votes have been counted. the margins may change as more results are released over the coming days. >>> our top stories now -- >>> a small plane crash lands in the parking lot of a new jersey shopping maul. these pictures just in to cnn from -- just a short time ago. a witness said the pilot survived and was being treated by paramedics. no one on the ground was injured. >>> new federal deficit projections for the next ten years are out today. congress cut its estimate from $9 trillion to $7 trillion. the white house budget office raised its outlook from $7 trillion to $9 trillion. either way, it is a record. >>> president

16th hajj naimutalh says he and his family were asleep in eir home in shawilikodistrict, north of kandahar cityey re woken by a coation attack on his village. >> ( translated ): iwas 10 o'clock atight when i woke up and the helicopters were bombarding. so the ildren and my wife ran outside their rooms andhey were fired oby the helicopter and i was not with my familyt the time and th is why i surviv.rh when i reacd them everyone had been injured. and then the helicopters red another bomb during e last strike i was also injured. >> thisear for the first time over 50% of civilian deaths recordedy the u.n. were caused by taliban roadside bom and suicid attacks. >> e injured man on the stretcheras sleeping -- sweeping forld soviet era nes when a rideside bomb went of an afghan armymbulance was near and the paramedics beg treatment but it wasn't enough. he had losttoo much blood. they arrid too late. >> mohaed was also the hammed anwar was also the victim of a taliban tack, the 11 yeaold fruit seller lost his gs to a roadside bomb. buhe seemed to take a loof joy in his newode of transport,nd for his

naimutallah says he and his family were asleep in their home in shawilikot district, north of kandahar cityey were woken by a coalition attack on his village. >> ( translated ): it was 10 o'clock at night when i woke up and the helicopters were bombarding. so the children and my wife ran outside their rooms and they were fired on by the helicopters. and i was not with my family at the time and that is why i survived.rh when i reached them everyone had been injured. and then the helicopters fired another bomb. during the last strike i was also injured. >> this year for the first time over 50% of civilian deaths recorded by the u.n. were caused by taliban roadside bombs and suicide attacks. >> the injured man on the stretcher was sleeping -- sweeping for old soviet era mines when a ride side bomb went off. an afghan army ambulance was nearby and the paramedics began treatment but it wasn't enough. he had lost too much blood. they arrived too late. >> mohammed was also the mohammed anwar was also the victim of a taliban attack, the 11 year old fruit seller lost his legs to a roadside bomb. but

yesterday, six nato soldiers died in and around the city of kandahar. at least three of them were americans. 75 nato troops died in afghanistan last month. that's the highest one-month death toll since the u.s.-led invasion in 2001. >>> in canada, a stage collapsed in the middle of an outdoor music festival. police say one person was killed and 15 others were injured at the big valley jamboree in alberta. a storm quickly rolled in while some 15,000 people were watching the festival yesterday. the crowd started to evacuate and that's when the stage came down. police say emergency services helped rescue some people trapped under the rubble. >>> president obama's economic recovery plan focussed on shovel-ready projects to put people back to work. but it's also giving people jobs. people who never touch a shovel. see how the money is helping fight crime on hln news and views. >>> 31 toledo police officers laid off because of budget cuts are getting their jobs back. the city's using a grant from the federal economic recovery program to pay for the return. to

another blast reported in the southern city of kandahar. that a day after the deadliest bombing of the year in the city. casualties are being reported. no firm figures of four. local officials of the bbc of injured people being taken to hospital. the taliban stronghold has seen a number of attacks this year. still to come for you on "bbc world news." nothing is better than at a bit of berlusconi bashing. a new biography. first, to many he will always be the greatest -- britain crowned him the sports personality of the century. he was loved all around when he came to manchester in northwest england. he was visiting the british boxer. we have this report. >> once famously he claimed to float like a butterfly. today, sadly, raising a wing for a wave is a painful, jerking effort. but the aura of the man remains. the ravages of parkinson's disease largely confined mohammad ali to a wheelchair. not today. he still had his pride. at this gym, this is part of a visit to raise funds for the terrible foundations to which he devotes himself. 28 years a

. >> reporter: afghan soldiers are searching cars headed into the city of kandahar. they are hoping to keep blood shed away from the polls. the taliban has threatened violence against anyone who participates in thursday's presidential election. insurgents are already making good on their promise. roadside bombs have killed at least six elections workers trying to get ballots to the polls. security forces there have' work cut out for them with 6500 polling places to protect. marines are racing against the clock to secure parts of southern afghanistan. the military says three troops were killed in fighting on wednesday. the united nations sees thursday's vote in afghanistan as one of the most complex anywhere in the world this year. just one kay before the vote, 20% of the polling materials haven't even reached the voting sites yet. officials are doing what they can. >> all the highways are open, all the roads are open. >> reporter: 15 million afghans registered to vote, but with so many living in remote areas, the taliban could suppress turnout by blocking a single ro

more than 30 civilians killed today in car bomb attacks in the southern city of kandahar. the city has been the target of several large taliban attacks in recent years. so far, no claim of responsibility. the attack comes as the country waits for results from last week's presidential elections. partial results released today show a slim margin separating president hamid karzai and abdullah abdullah. abdullah is a former foreign minister and he was a spokesperson for the northern appliance which helped the united states top the taliban. full results are expected sometime next month. >>> 46 years ago this week, martin luther king led a march on washington and made his famous "i have a dream" speech. and today, another dream, inspired by the civil rights leader, needs your help to come true. you're looking now at a virtual tour of the planned king memorial. it will sit on four acres of land, right next to the fdr memorial in washington, d.c. 1 $one osick million have been raised and another $14 million are needed before groundbreaking can start. if you want to help out, you ca

it happed in the southern city of kandahar, that the spiritl center of the taliba officials said at least 41 ople were killed when five hicles filled with exploves detonated at se time. it happened in an area where international d organizions and a japaneseconstruction coany are located. >>> also in southern afghanistan, four u.s. soldiers were kled today when their vehicle hit an improvid explosive dece. e loss of the americanset a grim mileen. >> afghanistan. this became e for innaea for inernational forces since the war began in 01. with 295 killed since january of the 172 were americans making this also the deadliest year in afghanista for e united states st over 800 amicans had been killed since the war began. >>> although just a fraction of the ves have been counted so far in last week's presidential contest in afghistan, the country's elecon commissioner released some preliminary results today. and th show a prettytight race with psident hamid karzai and his to challger, abdullah abllah, both with roughly40% of the vote if neither m gets more tn 50%,hey will face a runoff this fall

it happened in the southern city of kandahar. that's the spiritual center of the taliban. officials said at least 41 people were killed when five vehicles filled with explosives detonated at the same time. it happened in an area where international aid organizations and a japanese construction company are located. >>> also in southern afghanistan, four u.s. soldiers were killed today when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. the loss of the americans set a grim milestone in afghanistan. this became the deadliest year for international forces since the war began in 2001 with 295 killed since january. ng this also the deadliest , year in afghanistan for the united states. just over 800 americans had been killed since the war began. >>> although just a fraction of the votes have been counted so far in last week's presidential contest in afghanistan, the country's election commissioner released some preliminary results today. and they show a pretty tight race with president hamid kaai and his top challenger, abdullah abdullah, both with roughly 40% of the vote. if

it happened in a village near the city of kandahar in southern afghanistan. later the bodies of three boys and a man were brought to kandahar, where local residents called for the death of those responsible. the crowd was dispersed by police. >>> in neighboring pakistan, military officials claim a missile strike killed the wife of one of the taliban's top leaders today. the missile strike reportedly hit a house in a town in northwestern pakistan's lawless tribal region of south waziristan. intelligence officials say one the victims was the wife of metula bassude. and that brings us to our signature story tonight. the humanitarian crisis in pakistan. we reported extensively about how the pakistani military under pressure from washington has moved aggressively after the taliban in the swat valley, but once it did, an estimated 2 million people fled that region to an area known as mardan overwhelming services there. aide workers from the irish military group called concerned world wide recently visited the area and documented the very difficult concerns there. t

. >> in the meantime this was the scene earlier today in the southern city of kandahar.lowing a massive bomb blast yesterday, 43 lives lost, the deadliest attack in the past year. digital correspondent andrew stack, 9 news now and wusa9.com. >> last month, it turns out was the deadliest month so far in afghanistan, 44 u.s. service members lost their lives. >>> closer to home two people stabbed along a residential street in d.c. and one of them has died. it happened this afternoon along the 200 block of q street in northwest. police found two adults with stab wounds, one of them was pronounced dead at the hospital. now the second victim is expected to survive. no word yet on any arrests and what lead up to the stabbing. >>> maryland's board of public works approved state budget cuts. those cuts are expected to save taxpayers $454 million but they will mean pink slips for more than 200 state employees and 160 of those jobs will be cut from the health department and the counties will lose $211 million in state funding, money that's used for everything from police salaries t

. >> reporter: a truck packed with explosives blew up in the southern city of kandahar killing dozens as violence remains the backdrop to the country's elections. with only 10% of the votes counted, president hamid karzai appears to hold a narrow lead over his main rival, former foreign minister abdullah abdullah. but accusations of electoral fraud still dominate the count. >> i don't trust what they will been b doing. i don't know what will be their announcement tomorrow. >> reporter: abdullah has directly accused karzai of fraud. this video, which could not be independently verified, is alleged to show karzai supporters stuffing ballot boxes. the karzai camp has leveled similar accusations in return. so far, the election complaints commission has received over 40 serious allegations of vote rigging, although early results put karzai% ahead of abdullah, karzai actually needs 50% to win outright. all indications show a runoff election will be needed to determine a winner, one that's not expected until october. a runoff election that will provide yet another test for afghans trying to

then those statement frs the taliban, most being distributed in the taliban stronghold city of kandaharit told people to stay inside because they plan to have a series of mass attacks tomorrow. >> okay, so if the warnings are out there, i understand the afghan government thinks that journalists should not report the violence. how is that going over for people who's job it is to tell the truth? >> reporter: this only applies to local media. they have been protesting against this decree, which has been issued by the electoral commission sponsored by the afghan government which calls on all of a local media not to focus on attacks, not to report on them extensively. they said they were allowed to mention if an attack happened at a particular polling station or against a candidate, but to only mention it then to quickly move on. they were slightly more bizarre clauses saying there could be no talk of the candidates, no sarcastic remarks, no cartoons describing the candidates, no exposes on their personal lives. so the electoral commission is trying hard to encourage people to vote and not d

. >> reporter: in the meantime this was the scene earlier today in the southern city of kandahar, followingassive bomb blast yesterday, 43 lives lost. the deadliest attack in the past year. digital correspondent, andrew stack, 9 news now and wusa9.com. some troops deploying to afghanistan and iraq are potentially life saving equipment. soldiers are taking defender and uniforms to combat zones. if it catches fire the uniform fabric will self extinguish if ten seconds. it should help to avoid injuries caused by ieds. >> neat. >> how are you doing. >> i'm okay. >> little muggy outside. you kept asking what was the light in the sky. >> jupiter has been out early in the morning. >> thank you. ron and i thought i was the only ones seeing it because howard said back off. he wasn't dealing with it. >> a lot of people are talking about danny and he will have a big impact in to friday and saturday. sunday danny will be gone from our neck of the woods but we will have a front coming through which could give us more shower and storms. i start with danny this morning and danny has bright colors and stro

it happened in the southern city of kandahar. >> gun fire erupted on the streets as well.nother grim statistic, 2009 is officially the deadliest year of the war for coalition forces. nato says four americans were killed today when their patrol vehicle hit in southern afghanistan. >> improvised explosive devices can be out there again. and we're looking at the second deadliest move in afghanistan because of those ieds. >> it's called a homicide by the coroner. >> court papers show his personal doctor, gave michael jackson enough drugs to kill him. they do have enough evidence to move forward to say yes, a crime was committed. >> david, good to see you today. it's good to have a smoking gun so to speak. when do you expect formal charges. >> we have to go through and decide what are charges are the appropriate ones. >> the facts that they have opened those will require the prosecutors to investigate that dr. murray knew the risks, he knew that michael jackson could die and proceeded nonetheless in the face of that risk with conscious disregard to it. the other is involuntary

today five car bombs blew up almost simultaneously in the city of kandahar, flattening buildings and killing at least 41 people. the attacks come in the midst of the country's sorting out who won last week's presidential election. with about 10% of the official tally in, president hamid karzai and his main rival, adual abdul abdullah are tied. however, they are claiming widespread election fraud. if to no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held most likely in october. here in the states, senator russ feingold of wisconsin went where few in government have gone before, by telling the editorial board of the appleton post crescent that it's time to discuss a timetable for withdrawal from afghanistan. all that is life during wartime. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ to my family [ female announcer ] clean you can see. softness you can feel. tide with a touch of downy. [ engine powers down ] gentlemen, you booked your hotels on orbitz. well, the price went down, so you're all getting a check thanks. for the difference. except for you -- you didn't book with orbitz, so you'

today five car bombs blew up almost simultaneously in the city of kandahar, flattening buildings and killing at least 41 people. the attacks come in the midst of the country's sorting out who won last week's presidential election. with about 10% of the official tally in, president hamid karzai and his main rival abdullah abdullah are tied. opponents are claiming widespread election fraud. if to no candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will be held most likely in october. here in the states, senator russ feingold of wisconsin went where few in government have gone before, by telling the editorial board of the appleton post crescent that it's time to discuss a timetable for withdrawal from afghanistan. all that is life during wartime. we'll be right back. >>> there are now two searing images from the bombing of pan am flight 103 over the scottish town of lockerbie. first, the burning wreckage from the december 21st, 1988, flight that killed 270 people. 189 of those americans. and now this -- the image of the hero's welcome in libya for the only person convicted in the crim

afghan officials say at least 40 people are dead after a string of explosion in the southern city of kandahardestroying the offices of a construction company. >>> a faulty fuel valve is forcing nasa to scrub the launch of "discovery." last night's launch was scrubbed due to bad weather. >>> a judge in los angeles has sentenced chris brown to five years of probation and six months of community service. he was arrested for assaulting his former girlfriend, popstar rihanna. and the dow rose for a sixth straight session. thanks to an encouraging report on home prices and an unexpected jump on consumer confidence. the s & p added about 2.5 point, the nasdaq is up 6.25 points. back to "hardball." >>> welcome back to "hardball." well, the outrage continues to grow for scotland's release of the man involved in the 1988 lockerbie airline bombing that killed 189 of us, americans. british prime minister gordon brown broke his silence to say he's angry and repulsed at the way libya gave this guy a welcome home. with us now "the telegraph's" con coughlin in london. i am stunned by this. do we have a deal

meanwhile, at least 30 people were killed and 57 wounded today when a huge blast went off in the city of kandaharof the explosion was reportedly caused by five car bombs all strung together. fighting the taliban is still difficult for coalition forces. the chairman of the joint chi s chiefsedchiefs admiral mike mullen says the insurgency has become more violent. president hamid karzai has tried to claim victim in last week's presidential election. his primary rival rejects that and says the election was rigged. votes are still being counted. >>> in the bigger picture, opposition to the war in afghanistan is growing with each u.s. casualty as voters and even members of congress begin to question the mission there. senator russ feingold, democrat of wisconsin, called on president obama to provide a time table for withdrawal of american troops while questioning the effects the war is having. quote, after eight years i am not convinced that pouring more and more troops into afghanistan is a well thought out policy. this is a strategy that is not likely to succeed and we are helping to drive more extr

it happened just outside of kandahar, where a separate explosion rocked that city. officials say five car bombs strung together caused that blast, reportedly killing at least 30 people in kandahar. >>> and straight ahead, dire predictions about swine flu. the white house says more than 1 million people will be infected. homeland security secretary janet napolitano joining us next to talk about how the government is preparing for this threat. >>> this is "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. bicycle, what are we waiting for? the flowers are blooming. the air is sweet. and zyrtec® starts... relieving my allergies... 2 hours faster than claritin®. my worst symptoms feel better, indoors and outdoors. with zyrtec®, the fastest... 24-hour allergy medicine, i promise not to wait as long to go for our ride zyrtec® works fast, so i can love the air™. some pharmacies make you work for it with memberships and fees. but not walmart. they have hundreds of generic prescriptions for just $4 for up to a 30-day supply and no gimmicks. save money. live better. walmart. >>> the gov

again, this is a huge explosion in the southern afghan city of kandahar and we will wait and look forlties here. >>> north korea reportedly invited the united states to send an envoy for intertalks with the communist nation. they are reporting the obama administration is considering the offer. the meeting could come as early as next month. >>> michael jackson's death has been ruled a homicide paving the way for criminal charges against his personal doctor, conrad murray. according to court documents on i -- unsealed in houston dr. murray had been trying to wean jackson off propoe foal. he said he gave jackson a series of other drugs on the day jackson died but he didn't work so he gave propofol. he found jackson unresponsive he says about ten minutes later. we'll stay on top of that story. >>> days since hurricane bill blew up the east coast and another potential storm brewing in the atlantic. let's get over to the meteorologist bill karins. what are you looking at? >> good morning to you. this time the storm is forming closer to home and might catch some people off-guard. it's north

the cal ban not claiming responsibility for the blasts in kandahar that ripped through the city killing at least 43 people. when you look at it, they are not denying it either. what they are trying to tell you is that they don't want to be blamed for killing civilians. civilians are a big part of winning the war in afghanistan, whether you are the coalition troops or the militants. you are fighting for the support because no war has ever been won without the civilian support. in the meantime, ballots are still being counted. 17% of the ballots already counted so far. that's about a million votes. president karzai, the incumbent, getting about 432,000. the rival, about 330,000. we expect that gap to widen when we get more votes from the south. the candidate in afghanistan needs at least 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff. kyra? >> atee ia, we will keep follow it. >>> lieutenant governor andre bower is calling for governor sanford to step aside. his days may be numbered. the embattled gop governor has steadily been losing support since june when his affair with an angentinean woman comes t

civilians, according to police, were killed in an explosion outside a government building in kandahar, the principal cityin the southern part of the country. the spiritual home of the taliban. the associated press reports the blast was caused by five car bombs. dozens were wounded. also today four u.s. serve members were killed in roughly the same region by a roadside bomb. the military said they were on patrol in one of the most violent areas of the country. >>> early election results are in and right now it's a dead heat between harmid karzai and abdullah abdullah. each has 40% of the vote, but so far only 10% of the votes have been counted. the country plans to release partial results over the next few days. >>> a florida grandmother loses her temper and goes after a news crew who showed up at her door. wait till you find out what set her off. >>> a grandmother was not happy when a news crew began asking her about an investigation of a strip club. >> get out right now! >> she chased off the camera crew with, among other things, a garden hose. she became upset when asked if her 15-year-old granddaughte

yesterday's explosion in the city of kandahar left at least 43 people dead.y says the blast was triggered by remote control. eric? eric: wasn't just the victim of bernie madoff. cheryl says she was his mistress. she saft down earlier with us on "fox & friends" where she shared her feelings of remorse, for losing her family's savings with the same man she was having an affair with. >> a lot of guilt it was my responsibility for the family to invest our money and to take care of it i felt very responsible and very guilty. eric: she added that after the affair ended the two remained friends. brian: students returning to class in houston, texas are being warned no sexting. the distribution of indecent photos or videos sent via text message. aware of the problem, authorities adopted a ban before the beginning of the school year. recent study conducted by the national campaign to prevent teen and unplanned pregnancy found 22% of teen girls, 18% of boys have sent sexually suggestive text messages. gretchen: well, colleges are welcoming students back to campus across

it happenedn a vilge near the city of ndahar in southern afghanista later the bodiesf three boys and a m were brought to kandahar, wherlocal residents called for the deathof those responsible. the crowd was dispersed by police. >>> in neighbong pakistan, mitary officials claim a miile strike killed the wife of one of the taban's top aders today. the missile rike repordly hit aouse in a tow in northwesrn pakistan'slawless tribal region of south wazirian. intelligence officials say one the vtims was the wife of metula bassude. and that brings us to our signate story tonight. the humanitarian crisis in pakistan. we repord extensivy about w the pakistani mility under pressurerom washington has ved aggressily aft the taliban in the at valley, but ce it did, an estimated 2 million people fled tat region to an area known as mardan ovwhelming servic there. de workers from the irish milita group called concerned world wide recently visited the area and documented the very difficult conrns there. they sharedheir vidos and interviews with fe producer yuvol lionho brings us this report. >> rorter: children were bac in class

happening in much of kabul and perhaps to some extent in mazar-sharif, outside the second largest city, kandahar, where we knew there were going to be problems. why is that? because by the very nature of observation you're going to go to those places where you feel secure. you're not going to be visiting those very polling centers which are considered to be dangerous not only for the voters but for the observers. and so we're not able to obviously place people. we did put people -- we did see people from our team in p.r.t.'s, in helmond, in kandahar. but unfortunately they were unable for the most part to get anywhere near the election centers. they could provide a peripheral security. but it was considered too dangerous and possibly even viewed as interventionary if they had been any closer. so we didn't get to see that. there is a direct relationship is what i'm suggesting between the security of the area in which the polling is taking place and the possibility for fraud. i might also add that even in the viewing of the balloting we have to appreciate the fact that most eggregious kinds of vio

kandahar. the bombs went off simultaneously in the center of the city. more than 60 people were wounded. in the latest political developments in afghanistan, the first preliminary results from last week's presidential election trickled in. with only 10% of the ballots tallied, president hamid karzai has about 41% of the votes. his main challenger, abdullah abdullah, is close behind with nearly 39%. if neither candidate wins an outright majority, they'll be forced into a runoff. the taliban in pakistan confirmed for the first time their leader is dead. two taliban commanders told the associated press baitullah mahsud died on sunday of wounds suffered in a u.s. missile strike on august 5. pakistani and u.s. officials had said for weeks mahsud was likely killed in that strike. the two taliban aides also confirmed an earlier announcement that hakimullah mehsud now leads the pakistani taliban. in iraq, a group with links to al qaeda claimed responsibility for last week's deadly suicide truck bombings in baghdad. last wednesday the blasts targeted government buildings and killed more than 100

picture of wt was happening in much of kabul and and also mazar-i-sharif the two larger cities outside of kandahar where knewhere would be problems. why is that? because the very nature of observation, you're going to go to those places where you feel secure. you will not be visiting those very polling centers which are considered to be dangerous, not only for the voters but for thensurgents. we were not able obviously to place people but we did see people from our team in the purities in kandahar, but unfortunately, they were unable to get near the election centers. they could provide a peripheral security, but it was considered too dangerous and possibly the you negative intervention area if they had been any closer. we did not get to see that. there is a direct relationship betweenhe security of the area in whi the plings ki place and the possibility for fraud. i might also added that en in the viewing of the lloting, we have t apprecite the fact that the most eegiousinds o violations, don't occur while the ballting itself is takg place. yes, you may see what is referred to as retail fraud perh

perhaps to some extent in harrat and the other two larger cities outside of the second largest city, kandahar, where we knew there were going to be problems. why is that? because by the ver nature of observation you're going to go to those places where you feel secure. you're not going to be visiting those very polling centers which are considered to be dangerous not only for the voters, but for the observers. and so we, we were not able to, obviously, place people. we did put people, we did see people from our team in prts in helmand, in kandahar. but unfortunately, they were unable for the most part to get anywhere near the election centers. they could provide a peripheral security, but it was considered too dangerous and possibly even viewed as intervention their if they had been any closer. so we didn't get to see that. there is a direct relationship, is what i'm suggesting, between the security of the area in which the polling is taking placend the possibility for fraud. i might also add that even in the viewing of the balloting we have to appreciate the fact that the most egregious kind

and the are threats from taliban in kandahar as well as helmand saying that while people have beenoting in the city centers, in ruralreas the taliban ha threated to trol the seets and punish people with purple mks on their finge. so those are not areas where you have a lot of natoroops. in helmand there a go ance that enough pling stations will ho to make it, as richard holbrooke specia ambassador t this regionas said, acceptable enough to most the people. but there's talkf as much as 25% of the polli center ultimatelynot beingvailable the people. so a lot of people pobably i thosereas won'tbe able to vote. >> brown: can you tll how much those liban threats against ople, how much fear that'stirring among potential voters? >> i thin people as i talk to ople and talk to elders who have come in t kandahar, people ar scared. it's alittle hard to te, though, becse in different communities the eder are urging peopleo vote. i kn in the eastern partf the country, which is also -- a lot of ede are asking thir people to come ou, and people wl go along wi that. they feel a sense of security by their own peopl

shooting fr outside of the city like from the distris but also we want toinimize those whene send forces to the district as well. >> rorter: the facr naeshing districts of kandahar cityave a strong taliban presenc and thursday's voting day will show justow tight the noose is around this capital. ina kandahar. >>> next door in helmand province offensive by amican and briti troops has been under way for while. one immiate goal is toush ba the taliban so that more pele can vote thursday buts lindsay hill som, after cades of warfare. remains skeptical about the motives the foreign troopsand fearful of their own safety. >> reporter: coming into lanin what the british call a liberated area. seized fro the talian in opation princess lord. e british ambaador has come from the helmand province deputy goveor to encourage the pple to vote despite talibanthreats. >> from houses an old sovie tank. testament to three decade of war betweenfghan tribes an factions backed by sundry foreign vernments and groups. we head for the bazar. the ambassador s abandon his flak jacket. people have just returned to t village after fleeing the fiting. they're wary. some are undoubtedly repor

and there are threats from taliban in kandahar as well as helmand saying that while people have been voting in the city centers, in rural areas the taliban have threatened to patrol the streets and punish people with purple marks on their fingers. so those are not areas where you have a lot of nato troops. in helmand there's a good chance that enough polling stations will hope to make it, as richard holbrooke special ambassador to this region has said, acceptable enough to most of the people. but there's talk of as much as 25% of the polling centers ultimately not being available to the people. so a lot of people probably in those areas won't be able to vote. >> brown: can you tell how much those taliban threats against people, how much fear that's stirring among potential voters? >> i think people as i talk to people and talk to elders who have come in to kandahar, people are scared. it's a little hard to tell, though, because in different communities the eders are urging people to vote. i know in the eastern part of the country, which is also -- a lot of eders are asking their people to come out, and

kandahar in 2002. it was in the first blush after the invasion, the taliban had only just left, i was living in this very dingy hotel in the center of the cityor was an abandoned government compound. and this displaced family moved in. while afghans cut grass is by burning it. 6-year-old boy and 8-year-old brother were burning the grass. they didn't know there was unexploded bombs in the grass. they detonated right next to the hotel and we ran down. and we found these two kids. i remember the time we took them to the hospital, we were just covered in blood. and when we got there, when we got there, it was no medicine to give them. not even painkillers. the boy who we watched die, i gave him advil because it was more than anyone else could give him. i can still remember his brother wail i wailing. i remember that sound as i left that hospital. i remember it right now. that's kids in war. ♪ kelly saunder's nature valley. ♪ the place that inspires her to go faster... ♪ and slower. ♪ elk mountains, colorado. where's yours? 100% natural nature valley granola bars. the taste nature intended. >>> the afghan people are tired. they're exhausted. this

city of kabul. the taliban phoned in to claim responsibility for a number of explosions there, one apparently at a polling place, a rocket attack in kandahart more than you would expect? >> we focus on the violent activity, we're missing something that's a little bit more important in the south and in the east. key population areas in the south and in the east, kandahar and thetal p taliban and other insurgent groups have waged a war of intimidation, a kind of a silent war. this war has been taking place for quite sometime. so they don't have to have spectacular attacks to deter people from voting. they can give letters of intimidation or threaten to do certain things. as long as the threats are perceived as being credible by the population, they can drive voter participation down by doing that. >> hamid karzai spoke after casting his ballot this morning. listen to what he said encouraging people to get out and vote today. >> and i ask people to come out and vote so the vote can be more secure, more peaceful, and better -- >> you know one of the big complaints about karzai's regime is rampant corruption. there's concerned about some of the