News from the Hindu Kush: The U.N.-backed electoral complaints commission in Afghanistan has eliminated enough fraudulent ballots to require a run-off election between current Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his chief rival for the seat, Abdullah Abdullah. That is, of course, if Karzai doesn't reject the commission's findings, which he has hinted he might do. He certainly shouldn't. The failed election of this summer deeply hurt Karzai's legitimacy, and in so doing, the U.S. cause in Afghanistan. Fighting a counterinsurgency requires an allied government that is recognized by the people as a true alternative to the Taliban, not a puppet propped up by a foreign military. Karzai's government was already in enough trouble with widespread corruption before this summer's elections, where reports of massive voter fraud didn't help his cause and became a key reason the Obama administration decided to rethink the broad counterinsurgency strategy it was leaning toward earlier in the year.This may be the best news the White House has heard from Afghanistan in some time. Whether or not it influences the president's decision on how to go forward, if the second-round election produces a legitimate president, or forces Karzai and Abdullah into a unity government, that's an advantage no matter what path the U.S. takes. If the second-round election is another fraudulent mess, well, that means Obama has a few more weeks to consider his options but leaves him in essentially the same place he is now.-- Tim Fernholz
