Karzai accepts runoff in Afghan election

KABUL – A grim President Hamid Karzai bowed to intense U.S. pressure and agreed Tuesday to a runoff election Nov. 7, acknowledging he fell short of a majority after U.N.-backed auditors stripped him of nearly a third of his votes.

With the fraud investigation completed, election officials must now scramble to organize a new ballot as the fierce Afghan winter approaches and the country faces a growing threat from Taliban insurgents.

President Barack Obama said he called Karzai to welcome his willingness to run in a new election against his main rival Abdullah Abdullah. "President Karzai's constructive actions established an important precedent for Afghanistan's new democracy," Obama said."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also complimented Karzai's decision but stressed that a new election will be a "huge challenge."

"We have learned very valuable but painful lessons from the first election," Ban told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York. "We must not repeat what they have done last time."

Karzai spoke at a news conference after meeting at least four times with U.S. Sen. John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The Afghan leader did not express any regret over the widespread fraud, saying only that "this is not the right time to discuss investigations, this is the time to move forward toward stability and national unity."

He acknowledged the final results showing the need for a runoff were "legitimate, legal and according to the constitution of Afghanistan."

Kerry, who stood alongside Karzai and the head of the U.N. in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said the agreement on a second round had transformed the crisis into a "moment of great opportunity," and praised Karzai for "genuine leadership in the decision he has made today."

Karzai and Kerry were in talks as late as Tuesday afternoon, suggesting that up until the last moment there was a chance the Afghan leader would return to insisting on a first-round victory.

One alternative to a runoff that diplomats say was being discussed was a power-sharing deal, though the form that could take is unclear. And it could take weeks or months to hammer out an agreement between the two rivals. Karzai ruled out a coalition government, telling reporters, "there is no space for a coalition government in the law."

Yet the agreement that a runoff is required could be just the first step in negotiations to iron out these differences between the Karzai and Abdullah camps. Kerry said he had not discussed power-sharing with the Afghan leader, but other diplomats have said that it has been part of discussion.

Karzai's announcement came two months to the day after the first-round vote and followed weeks of political uncertainty.

Pakistan starts critical offensive against Taliban

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan – Pakistani soldiers attacked militant bases in the main al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border Saturday as the nuclear-armed country launched its most critical offensive yet against insurgents threatening its stability.

Five soldiers and 11 militants were killed as the more than 30,000 troops deployed to the region met stiff resistance in parts of South Waziristan, a possible hide-out of Osama bin Laden and a base for jihadists bent on overthrowing the U.S-backed government, attacking the West and scuttling the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan

The U.S. has pushed Pakistan to mount the offensive, which follows three unsuccessful campaigns since 2001 in the mountainous, remote region by mostly poorly equipped soldiers trained to fight conventional wars, not counterinsurgency operations.

The assault, which has been planned for several months, comes after a surge in militant attacks killed more than 175 people across Pakistan over the past two weeks. The operation is expected to last around two months and is aimed at clearing the region, then holding it, officials said.

Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said the effort was focused on uprooting the Pakistani Taliban, an umbrella group of militants led by members of the Mehsud tribe blamed for most of the attacks that have battered the country over the last three years.

About 10,000 local militants and about 1,500 foreign fighters, most of them from Central Asia, control roughly 1,275 square miles (3,310 square kilometers) of territory, or about half of South Waziristan.

Intelligence officials said the ground troops Saturday were advancing on two flanks and a northern front of a central part of South Waziristan controlled by the Mehsuds. The areas being surrounded include the insurgent bases of Ladha and Makeen, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media.

Gunbattles were taking place outside Spinkai Raghzai, Kalkala and Sharwangai areas, the officials said.

As many as 150,000 civilians — possibly more — have left in recent months after the army made clear it was planning an assault. Most are believed to be staying in rented homes or with host families, but there are perhaps as many as 350,000 still in the region. The United Nations has been stockpiling relief supplies in a town near the region, but authorities are not expecting a major refugee crisis like the one that occurred during an offensive this year in the Swat Valley, also in the northwest.

Makeen resident Ajmal Khan said that the people left in his town were terrified but could not leave their homes due to a curfew.

"We heard sounds of planes and helicopters early Saturday. Then we heard blasts," Khan told The Associated Press by telephone. "We are also hearing gunshots and it seems the army is exchanging fire with the Taliban."

Over the last three months, the Pakistani air force has been bombing targets, while the army has said it has sealed off many Taliban supply and escape routes. The military has been trying to secure the support of local tribal armies in the fight.

At least 11 suspected insurgents were killed in the jet bombings, while a roadside bomb hit a security convoy, killing one soldier and wounding three others, two local intelligence officials said. A military statement Saturday evening said four soldiers were killed and 12 wounded in exchanges in the region.

It is nearly impossible to independently verify information from the region, which has little infrastructure or government presence. Foreigners require permission to enter the tribal areas, and few Pakistani journalists from other parts risk traveling there.

Recent opinion polls show widespread public support for military action against the insurgents and there is also broad political backing, a change from a few years ago. But a long and bloody conflict — and more terrorist attacks around the country — could erode that support.

Even if the army retakes the area, the offensive by itself is unlikely to be death blow to the country's entrenched militants, who have formed networks across the country, including with groups once nurtured by the state as proxies against its arch enemy India.

The militants could escape to other parts of Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal belt or cities in its heartland. The areas being targeted by the operation don't directly border Afghanistan, which could limit the impact on U.S., Afghan and NATO troops battling a resurgent Afghan Taliban.

Pakistan waged offensives in the Bajur and Mohmand tribal regions earlier this year that it hailed as successes. But militants are still active in both and there has been little reconstruction.

South Waziristan is also much farther that those two regions from the main northwestern city of Peshawar, meaning keeping the troops supplied will be much harder.

Since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the Pakistan army's three attempts to dislodge Taliban fighters from South Waziristan have ended in truces that left the Taliban in control. This time, the military has said there will be no deals, partly to avoid jeopardizing gains won earlier this year when Pakistani soldiers overpowered the Taliban in Swat.

The army's efforts in South Waziristan got a boost when a U.S. missile strike killed Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud in August. The militants have since named fellow tribesman Hakimullah Mehsud as their leader, and have claimed responsibility for most of the recent attacks, including a 22-hour standoff at the army's headquarters.

Taliban spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment Saturday. Communications in and around the region appeared jammed, making it difficult to reach local residents or other witnesses.

The U.S. is trying to rush in equipment for the offensive that would help with mobility, night fighting and precision bombing, a U.S. Embassy official told AP in a recent interview, speaking on condition of anonymity because the issue is politically sensitive.

In addition to night-vision devices, the Pakistan military has said it is seeking additional Cobra helicopter gunships, laser-guided munitions and intelligence equipment to monitor cell and satellite telephones.

Army planners are also considering the weather. Snows expected in the coming weeks could block major roads in South Waziristan. At the same time, the winter could work to the army's advantage by driving fighters out of their unheated mountain hide-outs.

Balloon boy’s family obsessed with science

The family of a 6-year-old boy who is believed to have taken off Thursday in an experimental balloon has a heavy interest in science, with members sleeping in their clothes so they can chase after storms, media reports say.

Details emerged about Falcon Heene's family as authorities searched for the boy, who is believed to have floated away from his yard in Fort Collins, Colo. The balloon came down hours later, but the boy was not inside it.

The Heene family took part in the ABC reality show “Wife Swap" last year and earlier this year. The network described the family as alien buffs obsessed with science and UFOs.

"When the Heene family aren't chasing storms, they devote their time to scientific experiments that include looking for extraterrestrials and building a research-gathering flying saucer to send into the eye of the storm," according to ABC's description of the episode profiling the family. "The family sleeps in their clothes so they can leap out of bed and into the storm-mobile."

The boy's family had been building the experimental balloon at their home. The helium balloon, which resembled a flying saucer, was approximately 20 feet by 5 feet and had a foil top.

The balloon lifted away after the boy was seen climbing inside, setting off a frantic scramble by the military and law enforcement agencies before the balloon slowly touched down in a field.

The child's fate was unclear, and there was no sign of him in the balloon when it landed. Authorities feverishly searched for any sign of the child on the ground, including in the neighborhood where he lives.