1. Why was Hamid Karzai declared winner of Afghanistan's presidential election without the planned runoff election taking place?

2. Why did presidential runner-up Abdullah Abdullah pull out of the runoff?

3. Why was a runoff election necessary? Be specific.

4. a) Define credibility.
b) What might have hurt the credibility of the runoff, had it taken place?

5. a) What is the IEC?
b) What accusation did Mr. Abdullah make against the IEC?

6. How did the White House portray the need for a runoff election in Afghanistan?

7. Why might this early solution to the contested presidential election help our soldiers in Afghanistan?