karzai. >> karzai has at 40%, his nearest challenger 38%. with many votes yet to be tallied, this is likely to change. >> they had to steal the process, to steal the votes. why the incumbent -- that outcome, we will not allow. >> we were given a secret recordings by the abdullah abdullah campaign. the man on the left appears to be taking the box for president karzai. if this is authentic, then it will be a serious breach of election law. it is not the only allegation of fraud. this is what remains of hundreds of votes for another candidate. they should have been placed in the ballot box. instead, they were found wrapped up by the roadside. they have been handed over to investigators. this man calls this the slaughter of democracy in afghanistan. >> if i do not object, then i will be compromising my nation. i do not want to deceive them. >> for now, it is impossible to say how widespread the vote rigging has been. there are reports the west was too quick to declare this process a success and a victory for the afghan people. there is real conc

karzai, it looks like karzai's going to win and the vote-counting is always a painful processing. but even if he does, he's not an easy candidate for the u.s. to support, not only because the elections are being contested but because of his running mate marshall bahem is accused of being involved in a drug trade and this goes to another point and problem in afghanistan right now, whichmyq is that the talib is more deeply involved in drug trafficking and drug trade was initially nate as recent nato and military operations have found. and that's going to mean more unrest both in afghanistan and in pakistan. >> and( united states is doing a total look, again, at the military option. >> aside of what has happened on the political side of things, you're hearing interesting words coming from admiral mullen, head of the joint chiefs, saying the war's not going well. talking about maybe needing more troops. general mcchrystal on the ground in afghanistan is -- called for studies from think-tanks and others, testing what we are doing there militarily. is this the right policy? it's very un

and so whether it's just karzai or potentially karzai versus abdullah i think remains unclear. but i think that the more important point about afhgan leadership is not necessarily who wins, but what they do. and i'll come back to that. the second question, the significance of the afhgan election is the legitimacy of the afhgan leadership. if the next president and this weighs most heavily on president karzai, comes out with questions of legitimacy then we are all in trouble. karzai's legitimacy, his popularity and his legitimacy has plummeted in the last few years. this is primarily due, not only to the success of the insurgency, but i believe under gurds of success of the insurgency, which is the fact that his government is viewed widely as corrupt. and this is corruption which has to do with injustice, it has to do with people taking money and it it has to do with the fact that he has been unable to i think fulfill some of the major promises that he has elected for and that he has run for. and there is also of course the question of impunity. that actor necessary his governme

karzai's mismanagement. government corruption, nepotism, karzai's half-brother is an accused drug trafficker, and rising violence from the resurgent taliban. that's why many voters like this man remain undecided. the tailor who earns $100 a month with hand-cranked machines and irons heated on open flames voted for karzai last time. but my life hasn't improved he said. thursday's contest between abdullah's populism and karzai's deal making is now so close, analysts predict neither could win outright. the race may go to a run-off. richard engel, nbc news, kabul. >>> we told you last night about new federal charges against a man who might have been the most prolific computer hacker ever. stealing credit datfrom stores and restaurant chains. there is a new source of worry when it comes to protecting your personal information. a rich new target for hackers. here is nbc's michelle franzen. >> reporter: brian rutberg at his home in seattle last january when he first learned someone had taken over his facebook accou

we will vote for karzai. >> reporter: dr. abdullah, who has campaigned in kandahar, is seen as close to the tajik community because of links with the northern alliance. the group that helped topple the taliban in 2001. >> translator: i will vote for hamid karzai. we will not vote for abdullah abdullah. he speaks the language of the tajiks. >> reporter: the tribal elders are also involved in different negotiations here trying to convince the taliban that disrupting elections would not be in the interest of the people, the pashtuns in particular. because for the pashtuns, the question doesn't seem to be for whom to vote for, but whether or not they will cast their vote at all. al jazeera, kandahar. >>> joining us to help us with more insight on thursday's presidential election in afghanistan, we are joined again by alex thi er, the director of the future of afghanistan project at the united states institute of peace and that's based in washington, d.c. welcome back. >> pleasure to be here. >> there were fresh reports today abou

president karzai inches ahead in the afghanistan election. abdul aziz ak-hakim has died in exile in tehran. >> hello. he was the best known american politician never to make it to the white house. senator edward kennedy has died after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. president obama described him as "the greatest senator of our time." he had achieved so much, from civil rights to health care reform, and tributes flowed in from a political foe and friends alike. this from our north american editor. >> they called him the last line of the senate. he was the youngest of the kennedy clan who had become kingmaker and never came, lofty aspirations undermined by deep personal flaws. the united states is in mourning, but it is democrats to agree that the most. led by the president. >> he is one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy. his extraordinary life on this earth has come to an end. >> and the vice president also grew tearful. >> so many of his those embraced him. they know he made them better. >> he was the younges

karzai and continued until the end. and toward the end they realized the partner is not sincere and cannot deliver to its own people. at that time, it was too late. i think in the united states, it's a new beginning and a new approach toward many issues, including afghanistan, and afghanistan gave us hope as a result of the elections, that there will be another opportunity for working together in order to make afghanistan stabilized as well as to attest the needs of the afghan people, and, of course, the concern in the hopes of the friends of afghanistan in the united states helping us. >> there are a number of people who have argued that the united states, and most importantly, the afghan government, should be talking to the taliban, trying to get members of the taliban to switch sides, to isolate the hard-core employments and broaden the base of support for the afghan government. you have called the current efforts of reconciliation a joke, quote, unquote. so what's wrong with the way we are trying to talk to the tali

karzai and continued to the end. then they realized the partner is not sincere and cannot deliver to its own people. i think the new administration is a new beginning and a new approach to many issues, including afghanistan, and afghanistan gave us hope as a result of the elections that there will be another opportunity for working together in order to make afghanistan stablized as well as to test the needs of the afghan people, and the concern in the hopes of the united states helping us. >> there are a number of people who have argued that the united states, and most importantly, the afghan government, should be talking to the taliban, trying to get members of the taliban to switch sides, to isolate the hard-core employments and broaden the base of support for the afghan government. you have called the current efforts of reconciliation a joke, quote, unquote. so what's wrong with the way we are trying to talk to the taliban now, and how would do it differently? >> the current administration is losing the people, an

president karzai edges against his main rival. and one of iraq's influential leaders has died in exile in tehran. >> hello. he was the best known as american politician ever to make it -- never to make it to the white house. senator kidney -- kidnapping -- center -- senator kennedy died after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. he fought for so many causes, and the tributes have flowed in from friend and foe alike. but his career was limited by self-inflicted wounds. adam brooks reports. >> the death of edward kennedy, known as ted, leads a chasm in american politics. hughes was one of the most effective politicians of the last century -- he was one of the most effective politicians of the last century. his father warned that he was the sort of person that would also always be caught. at the white house, the flag was lowered to half mast. the president, who owes much to ted kennedy, it characterized as a giant. >> he is one of the most accomplished americans ever to serve our democracy. his extraordinary life on this earth has co

we will vote for karzai. >> reporter: dr. abdullah, who has campaigned in kandahar, is seen as close to the tajik community because of links with the northern alliance. the group that helped topple the taliban in 2001. >> translator: i vote for hamid karzai. we will not vote for abdullah abdullah. he speaks the language of the tajiks. >> reporter: tders are also involved in difficulty negotiations here true to -- because for the pashtuns the question doesn't seem to be for whom to vote for, but whether or not they will cast their vote at all. >> for more on thursday's presidential election in afghanistan, we're joined by alex thier, the director of the future of afghanistan project at the united states institute of peace, based in washington, d.c. welcome back. >> pleasure to be here. >> there were fresh reports today about efforts by the taliban to intimidate afghans into not voting. can afghanistan hold a broadbased election that will be viewed as legitimate under these conditions. >> well it's very difficult. court positio

karzai, it looks le karzai's going to win and the vote-counting is always a painful processing. t even if he es, he's not an easy candidate for the.s. to support, not onlbecause the elections are being contested but because of his running te marshallahem is accused of being involved in a drug tde and this goes tonother point and problem in afgnistan right now,hichmyq is thathe taliba is more deeply invved inrug traffickinand drug trade was initially nates recent to and military operations ha found. and that's going to mean mre rest both in afghanisn and in kistan. >> and( united statess doing a total look, agai at the military option. >> aside of what has happened on th political side of things, you're hring interestin words coming fro admir mullen, head of the joint chiefs, saying the r's not going well. talking about mae needing mre troops. general mcchryst on the groun inafghanistan is -- called for studies fromthink-tanks and others, testing at we are ing there military. ishis the right policy? it very unusual, i would say, for military leader to question what they are doing

can president karzai stop what he was unable to stop before? we don't know. >> reporter: and before we do know, afghanistan will have to name its next president. preliminary results are expected by the end of the week. international donors are helping to pay for afghanistan's $223 million election undertaking, but right now the u.s. envoy in afghanistan says that it is top in the midst of the war to stage an actual election but that he is confident democracy will prevail. michelle? >> susan roberts in washington. susan, thanks. >>> it's reported this morning the cia hired a secret and possibly illegal squad of private contractors to help find and assassinate al qaeda leaders. "the new york times" reports that five years ago the cia hired operators from blackwater usa, the private security contractor, for the still classified program. one source says it was unsuccessful and that the contracts were cancelled. >>> scotland will announce today its decision on releasing the only man ever convicted in the bombing of pan am flight 103. the jet blew up

is karzai doing a good job? not according to this story by germanese deutsche vella. it's a how they see it report. >> reporter: president hamid karzai's power is still mainly limited to kabul. many afghans are unhappy with his style of government. he's been criticized for handing official positions to powerful ds. the organization transparency international says afghanistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the world. >> translator: the government in kabul is only interested in its own survival, as long as it remains rife with corruption and nepotism instead of concentrating on delivering good leadership, it will only be able to survive with military help eporter: efforts to rebuild the country have made some progress, but more slowly than many had hoped. afghanistan has received billions of euros in aid, including $550 million from including $550 million from but half of afghans still live below the poverty line. >> translator: given the choice between the west and its military potential or the taliban, who give people jobs distributing weapons and pay them to

is likely to win but it would like to see a very different president karzai over the last four years than we've had for the last few years. >> reporter: according to john neagle of the center for new american security, the fact that this has turned into a horse race could serve as a wakeup call to karzai. >> this is a good forcing function to put more coerceive pressure on president karzai, on his government to root out some corruption and be more responsive to his people. >> reporter: that's what the u.s. wants out of this election: a better afghan government. david martin, cbs news, the pentagon. >> rodriguez: here at home, at a time when so many americans are struggling to pay their bills, a government crackdown today on debt collectors. the average household in this country owes more than $10,000 on credit cards alone and about two million people seek help from credit counselors every year. people in debt can be easy targets for unscrupulous collections agents as chief correspondent armen keteyian tells us. >> get an education instead of sitting on your fat derriere all day long.

he came back in august at karzai's request and endorsed the karzai government.point here is, if karzai is returned to office now, because of dosdumb as his supporters than hopes for a good government are going to be rather bleak in the new second round of a kaai administration. on the other hand, if we go to a second round runoff, then really all bets are off. i don't think anyone really knows what a second round is going to look like. there is several scenarios and there are intricate linkages tween them. all of which are very complex. one scenario you will hear a lot is that there's going to be a back roodeal. that karzai and abdullah a@dullah if they go to a second round will somehow come to an arrangement which will overrate the need for an election and share power. i'm sktical of this. certainly possible, politicians making deals happens everywhere, but i think at this point if abdullah abdullah does get to a second round the desire to see if he can win the whole thing is ing to be overwhelming. secondly tre's going to be a lot of other deals going on. if m

the current president hamid karzai is the front runner.address thousands of supporters. his main challenger is a former foreign minister, traveled to the central province. he has been speaking to the bbc about halki would try to improve security. >> my first target would be thousands and thousands of people who have joined the taliban ranks, because of other grievances. all of those who have joined the taliban are not among those who would like to destroy it and take it back to the old days. there are thousands of people who have joined them because of injustice, because of corruption, because of socio- economic circumstances. >> the form minister. -- the former foreign minister. millions of dollars being poured into a new justice system targeting narcotics. afghanistan produces most of the world's opium. çthose and counfernarcotics hae just had a shot. president karzai has pardon defied senior drug traffickers related to a senior family -- has pardoned five senior drug traffickers. >> one of the most dangerous jobs in afghanistan. here i

. -- to add illegally to the vote countfpresident karzai. perhaps 5.5 million votes have en counted. th would be up dispointing turnout. -- this uld be a disappointing turnout. o one is quite sure how many vos are infghanistan. clely fewer voted in this election and t last one. both for internationa governmentsho sent their troops here, tha will be a disappointment. >>will as the votcount in rolls on, so does the violence. another blast repord in the southern city ofandahar. that a day afterhe deadliest mbing of t year i the city. casualties are bein reported. no fi figus of four. local officials of the bbc of jured people being takeno hospital the taliban stronghold has seen a number attacks this year. still to come for you on "bbc worlnews." nothing is better than at a bit of berlconi bashing. a new biography. first, to many he wilalways be e greatest -- britain crowned him the sports personality of the century. he was lovedll around when he ca to manchestern northwest england. he was visiting the british bor. we have this report. >> once

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 sustain a democracy. mandy clark, cbs news, kabul. >> couric: and coming up next, it's a most magnificent creature the lion that's becoming king of the ocean, eating everything in sight. well, this is new... i'm working on my digestive health. whatcha eatin'? yoplus. it's a yogurt for digestive health. here...blackberry pomegranate. i can't find my hand. (announcer) yoplus and new yoplus light. digestive health alternatives from yoplait. tylenol pm quiets the pain that keeps you awake. and helps you sleep, in a non-habit forming way. in this box is what i need to control my diabetes, to stay healthy - a

karzai was above 56% -- karzai and won by 56%. he did not really run against an opponent. there were several omens that ran, not to defeat karzai, but to demonstrate their control of their ethnic neighborhood. for example, ramazan bashardost ran to demonstrate his control of the uzbek community. karzai won with a majority support of the poshtuns. at that time, he won virtually the entire west and south of the country and had significant inroads in the north. as he said, this is largely a one-off. i do not think it is a useful comparison. the election we had in 2009, what ever else you may think of it, was at least a real horse race. unless the votes are tallied timbered and we have complete fraud on the scale of or was sought in iraq, we will have a fairly tight her -- election. the 2005 elections are much more useful to compare dated two as they come in on future date to the tournament in two thousand five is under 50%. the government claimed it was 49%. most observers said it was probably closer to 45 -- some provinces had staggering turnout. one province and the center

but karzai has to win 51% of the vote in order for there not to be a runoff.and there's no poll that's ever showed him that popular in this country at this point in time. he's actually quite unpopular. his greatest strength is that he's known. he's the president, he's there, he's pulling the levers of power, he's been on tv a lot, he's been, not public television, state television, quite a difference. and a complaint there, that it's been measured, something like 70% of the coverage in this election season. so there's a good chance he will win outright, but there's also quite a good chance that there will be a runoff. >> brown: all right, renee montagne, thank you for talking to us. >> thanks for having me. >> lehrer: in other news today, a key taliban commander's bases in pakistan came under fire from helicopter gunships. government forces targeted two locations in the northwest, near the afghan border. they said at least 12 insurgents were killed. the bases are run by a possible successor to the pakistani taliban's chief. he was reported killed in a u.s. mis

troops as opposed to president karzai. fascinating.ng on it. coming up, is president barack obama backing down on health care? we will talk about the politics of the public option is deputy press secretary bill burton. >>> plus new reaction to jenny sanford's big interview about her cheating husband, the governor. you're watching "the big picture" on msnbc. ♪ 'cause now i'm driving off the lot in a used sub-compact. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free credit report dot com, baby. ♪ ♪ saw their ads on my tv ♪ thought about going but was too lazy ♪ ♪ now instead of looking fly and rollin' phat ♪ ♪ my legs are sticking to the vinyl ♪ ♪ and my posse's getting laughed at. ♪ ♪ f-r-e-e, that spells free- credit report dot com, baby. ♪ it's taken my time. time that i should have had to be with my family. it's like you're getting violated. these are uncertain times. and it's tough enough in this economy without... the added pressure, headache, and heartache of having... to struggle with a stolen identity. but you don't have to. lifelock works to stop

karzai? >> because karzai's the only man that people believe in. he serves the country, the afghanistan people. >> reporter: karzai refused to appear in this recent televised debate with two top onpposition candidates. >> a disappointment, the fact we ran a party, hopefully many people will feel there will be accountability. >> reporter: opposition candidates like former foreign minister, abdullah abdullah, slamming karzai's record in office. >> because of the failure or the current administration, in losing support of its own people, there is a vacuum. that vacuum, of course, has led to deterioration in the security as well as in our part of life. >> reporter: the crowded field of candidates including candidates, islamists, women and former taliban commander, many trying to appeal to afghanistan, disillusioned by poverty and crime. county and former finance minister, ghani has been telling his supporters, quote, let's get rid of this corrupt regime. warning to look out for fraud on election

karzai is relying on voters like nebi, a 35-year-old day laborer. in his one room home in kabul he said he is willing to defy the threats for his children. >> translator: i'm voting for the peace and stability of my country he said. >> reporter: but when nebi arrived at the center he was the only one voting. turnout was high in the relatively safe north and west of afghanistan. here many back karzai's main rival, foreign minister abdullah, abdullah. high turnout improves chances of forcing karzai into a run-off election this fall. as ballots were being counted tonight it seems violence and intimidation didn't stop the vote but may have inadvertently guaranteed another election. both karzai and abdullah called today's election "imperfect but nonetheless successful." initial results could come as early as saturday. ann. >>> richard engel in afghanistan. thank you so much. >>> senator edward kennedy has been battling cancer for more than a year now. but there was news today that made it clear that he has not stopped looking ahead. kennedy has been sena

i know karzai, the presidential elections coming up this month and karzai looking for votes. how might, though, all of this violence undermine the elections later this month? >> reporter: well, it's definitely a major challenge, brooke, and i've updated some of those casualty numbers, those grim numbers with a spokeswoman. she says that six american and nato troops were killed on saturday in three separate incidents, three of them being americans killed by roadside bombs and went on to say that three more americans were killed today in eastern afghanistan by a roadside bomb that hit the patrol. now, the afghan president hamid karzai is running for reelection. and he conceded during his years in office, he's been president since 2001, there's still major security challenges in his country. let's take a listen to what he had to say, brooke. >> translator: we passed the journey of success, we passed the journey of happiness, but all of our joys were mixed with sadness, we could not bring complete peace to our country. terrorism is still bothering us, killing our people, destroyi

he was a governor of kabul until he resigned to run president karzai's reelection campaign.concern has been voiced even from within the afghan government. >> guilty is guilty. we must deal with them. >> possibly, how many karzai fe that as president of a country with disparate and powerful political groups, pardoning them was a political necessity. i hoped to speak with him about this controversy, but despite repeated requests, no one has been available to speak. >> tonight on the tv, this news of the pardoning has hit the afghan local news headlines. >> is shocking news. people are very shaken to find out e president has released these men all because of deals and the campaign to get more votes. people are not happy. what incentive is there for others to believe well? >> this may have given herman karzai the backing of a powerful family, but there is a danger the pardons may lose him support come election day. >> next week we will have live coverage on the afghan election. stay with us for that. full market and financial analysis in 25 minutes. it looks as their european in

fewer voters may hurt the chances of hamid karzai. he faces three dozen challengers, the biggest, abdullah abdullah, a doctor who once served as the country's foreign minister. though karzai is favored to win, if he doesn't get 50% of the vote there will be a runoff in october. drew 11 son, cbs news, new york. >> and the election does have a close connection to maryland. current president hamid karzai has family who live here in baltimore. >>> in one month's times our colleagues at cbs have lost two legends. first walter cronkite, and now mike hewett. coworkers decide him as a man with passion for innovative story telling. don hewitt was 86 years old. >>> if you want to be an olympic swimmer there are now three u.s. centers to choose from, and one of them is baltimore's aquatic hub. the north baltimore aquatic club has an olympic track record. seven winners have trained here, michael phelps the greatest among them. even so it's an honor to be named one of only three professional and post-grad training centers in the u.s. by the olympi

ball lons all stamped for karzai before they were given to voters. initially, the u.s. called the election a success, but now, there are more than 600 allegations of fraud, and widespread reports of low turnout. an american officials fear that will rob this election of its legitimate si and the next government of a mandate. >> if you were unable to go to a ballot station because there were rocket attacks, it doesn't look like a legitimate process to you. >> reporter: the stakes are enormous. if the election isn't seen as fair, afghans may not back the next government, and the u.s. may lose an opportunity to stabilize this fragile state. nick schifrin, abc news, kabul. >>> and two signs of instability in afghanistan today. a cluster of five car bombs exploded in the taliban stronghold of kandahar today, killing 41 people. those bombs exploded near u.n. facilities. >>> and the death of four american troops in a bomb blast today brings the death toll for coalition forces to 295 so far this year. one more than was killed in all of last year. >>> and still ahead on "world ne

president karzai's campaign team claimed out right victory this morning. rival counts put scorn on these claims. in spite of mounting violence, almost all voting centers were open during yesterday's election. officials say turnout could have been as low as 40%. there were attacks in kabul, but in the south, more than 20 people were killed in string of incidents. >> and some parts of afghanistan the turnout has been low, unfortunately. they showed -- board would never was the obstacle. i would congratulate the people of afghanistan for their coverage, for their determination, and hopefully, this will lead to a change. >> one of the candidates -- one of the candidates said some voters were forced by warlords to vote by gunpoint for certain candidates. there were some examples of bloc voting. >this chief says what i tell them who to vote for, they do so. this was a rough and ready election -- flawed, yes. but what this count finishes, the winner may emerge sooner than expected. bbc news, northern afghanistan. >> we will turn to the elections as a key benchmar

and this law that was passed recently and then enacted by president karzai was really at the expense of women. it was quietly passed through about late last month and this law, which only applies to the shiite communities, makes it legal for husbands to starve their women if -- to starve their wive is if they deny them sex. so you're seeing very chauvin t chauvinistic politics and women taking the brunt of that, but you're seeing a lot of women hoping to change this aabominabe situation in running for office. >> but the leaders, including karzai, and those more likely to be elected, whether it's karzai or abdullah, none of the leading candidates have a better posture towards women? >> reporter: it was karzai who passed this law, a law that president obama, when he first heard about it, called it abhorrent. it is one of the worst laws for women since the fall of the taliban eight years ago. and he passed it in order to gain some political clout with shiite religious leaders. so, clearly, his -- women's rights are not at the top of his agenda. it seems that political expediency is more

incumbent president hamid karzai is the front-runner.faces 40 challengers, including his former foreign minister who is the top challenger there. >>> now to the front lines of tomorrow's election. cnn's ivan watson is on the ground for us in the central afghanistan. it is a relatively peaceful part of the country but security is still am major concern. >> reporter: compared to southern and eastern afghanistan, and increasingly northern afghanistan where the taliban insurgency is so active and bloody, this is a virtual oasis of calm. that's because many people who live here are an ethic group called the hazarras. you may see the cave where a 150-foot tall buddhist statue that dated back at least 15 centuries where it was destroyed by the taliban more than eight years ago. we went out with trucks delivering ballot boxes today for tomorrow's vote. let's look at what we saw during that journey. we're in a convoy on a police truck. we're escorting this truck up ahead of us. in the dust you might be able to see it. it is taking ballot boxes up

and when we contacted karzai's office he said the same thing. that indications are that he believes he won, but they are both still abiding by the process and there are such concerns here that both of the candidates could delegitimize this process, that the chief u.s. envoy richard holbrooke visited both abdullah and karzai to calm down with their statements and let the process continue. >> both the incumbent and the candidate waiting for the results. richard engel in kulks, wanth. >>> the afghan elet fin affoghib fight afr isantan will be an am t sopnic o sy'uns da ee"mseth press" we'll talk to the chaiane otht f ejofsief staff, mike mullen and karl eikenberry and plus we will have a deba on health care with senators hatch and schumer. >>> there is reaction tonight to a claim by former homeland security secretary tom ridge that he was pressured to raise the nation's terror threat level just days before the 2004 presidential election. in a move he said he believed was meant to sway the vote. ridge says in a new book, the pressure came from top a

president karzai reacted very angrily and after a few minutes, the meeting ended. the u.s. embassy denies that he stormed out. >> the hope of intervention could be to delegitimize any leader in afghanistan who comes out of the electoral process. that cannot help the western alliance. that can that help the government of afghanistan. that can only help the taliban. >> assuring that these elections are a viable is vital. now, doubts about fraud and turnout could undermine the mission. there have been more than 1700 complaints about irregularities. 270 have been classified as serious cases. if they are approved, they could have a material effect on the outcome. as we reported, it is not just corruption but turned out that threatens the election. less than 40% voted across the country. in the south, the numbers are much lower. >> this election demonstrates that the whole strategy of 8 years of democratic state building, creating a centralized state, has failed. we need to recognize that failure and come up with something different. >> these revelations come as two more british

resident karzai reacted very angrily andafter a few minutes, e eting ended. the u.s. embassy deni that he stormed out. >> the hope ontervention uld be t delegitimize a leader i afghanistan who com out of the electoral pross. that cannot help the western alliance that can that help the government of afghistan. that cannly help the taliban. >> assurin that these ections are a viable is vital. now, ubts about fraud and turnout could undeine the mission. there have been more than 1700 colaints about irregulaties. 270 havbeen classified a serious cases. if they are approved, th could have a matial effect on the outcome. ase reported, it is not just corruption but turned out that threatens the elecon. ss than 40% voted across the country. in the sout the numbers are much lower >> this ection demonstrates thatthe whole strategy of 8 years of democratic state building, creatina centralized state, has failed. we need to regnize that failure and comep with something difrent. >> these relations comes two more british soldiersre flown home, kled in action afghanistan. hthe deat a

if karzai wins more than 50% of the vote, he would avoid a two-man runoff. abdullah has accused karzai and his supporters of widespread vote rigging. >>> in other news on afghanistan, richard holbrook, the american special envoy for the region, has accused citizens from many of the oil-rich persian gulf countries of aiding the taliban. in an interview with cnn, holbrook claimed that such money is greater than the taliban's profits from opium. "it seems to be more from individuals carrying money in their suitcases," holbrook said. "sometimes they are taking advantage of the pilgrimage," to holy cities in saudi arabia. "sometimes from charities," he said. >>> as americans mourn the loss of senator edward kennedy today, remembrances and condolences are also pouring in from around the world. in ireland, the land of kennedy's ancestry, prime minister brian cowen said, "in good days and bad, ted kennedy worked valiantly for the cause of peace on this island." israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu praised kennedy as, "a great american patriot, a great champion

and then you had the president hamid karzai, who claims it was a great success. charlie, was this really a success? are we to believe that? >> it was a success but it didn't go as bad as many it feared it might. i think that in the end of the day, this election had two things happening. it was a political contest. and we all sort of know where this ends. it's going to end with karzai being re-elected if other collective wisdom is accurate. but -- but it's also a contest in which we're really testing the obama administration's new counterinsurgency policy. they said they would increase the troops by 21,000. we're in the middle of that. we're in the middle of the offensive. they say they want to bring security so that we can really see this nascent democracy take route. and you know, it didn't didn't suck snead that and certainly raises questions. >> isn't there a deal here, supposedly? we tell the afghan people, we'll try to make it secure as possible. but your obligation is to come out and vote. >> right. well, i think one thing we brought out in our articles is

abdullah showed reporters ballots premarked for karzai. >> watch ihere. all being stampe some are not stamped but the same. the same mark out, the same thing. and up to the end. >> reporter: videos allegedly showing karzai supporters systematicallyhecking off ballots and stuffing boxes. day six other presidential candidates claimed there was massive fraud last week. >> this is sething completely outrageous and no time in history in afghanistan smuch corrupti. >> repter: international election observers showed nbc news pictures of children voting with their own voter identity cards. the elecon's dispute is the latest of a growing number of probms. violence is on the rise. the taliban has stronghold in about half the country. and even analysts here are starting to say the u.s. is getting deeper in what could be an unwinnable war. and that war erupted in kandahar this evening where at least five car bombs went off at once killing at least 41 people and wounding over 60 in a neighborhood that houses many ntractors.nal aid workers and just hoursarlier four u.s

president karzai currently leads the polls. most analysts believe he'll win a second term as long as his top cot pet tor doesn't get a last-minute push. >> this is putting more pressure on president karzai to be more responsive to his people. >> reporter: as the threat of violence looms over the election, many believe there will be a strong voter turnout. there will be crucial for the candidates, as well as president the obama's campaign to turn around a devastating war. here in washington, secretary of state hillary clinton is speaking out, saying the u.s. is doing all it can to make sure the polling places are as safe as possible for tomorrow's elections. >> susan roberts in washington, thank you. >> protecting afghan voters is a crucial mission right now. in the south, there is no putting the war on hold. u.s. marines are slugging it out with taliban fighters in hel mands province and laralogy san with them. >> reporter: the marine mission has taken on greater significance. here echo company is heading out to a known taliban