Afghan Warlords Form Party

According to the October 6 RFE-RL Middle East newsline (link will expire), several dozen Afghan warlords have formed a new political party to challenge Hamid Karzai in the 2004 elections. The group, known as the United National Islamic Front of Afghanistan, include such rivals as Abd ar-Rashid Dostum and Ata Muhammad, as well as the powerful Iranian-backed Herat governor Ismail Khan. Considering the warlords and other local leaders will have a lot of influence over any voting outside Kabul, this can't be good news.