AFGHAN VOTE TODAY - AT 7:17 A.M. ET:  Afghanistan goes to the polls today to elect a new president.  Well, at least those Afghans brave enough to face down Taliban threats will go to the polls.  That's the main story, as AP reports:

KABUL — Taliban threats appeared to dampen voter turnout in the militant south Thursday as Afghans chose the next president for their deeply troubled country. Insurgents launched scattered rocket, suicide and bomb attacks, violence that closed some polling sites.

Low turnout in the south would harm President Hamid Karzai's re-election chances and boost the standing of his top challenger, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. Turnout in the north appeared to be high, a good sign for Abdullah.

International officials have predicted an imperfect election — Afghanistan's second-ever direct presidential vote — but expressed hope that Afghans would accept it as legitimate, a key component of President Barack Obama's war strategy. Taliban militants, though, pledged to disrupt the vote and circulated threats that those who cast ballots will be punished.

COMMENT:  First reports indicate a turnout dramatically lower than that in 2004, which means that the Taliban threats have been effective.  A stable, believable election is vital to American interests in Afghanistan.  But look for the political left in the United States, and other NATO countries, to ridicule any result.

August 20, 2009