Afghan Parliament Rejects Karzai Cabinet

Afghanistan's parliament dealt a stinging rebuke to President Hamid Karzai today by rejecting 70% of his nominees for a new cabinet. The voting ended with the rejection of 17 of 24 nominees, including a powerful regional warlord. "I think, unfortunately, that the criteria were either ethnicity or bribery or money," said one lawmaker before the voting.

Given the allegations of fraud in the last election, Karzai had been under pressure to come up with names free of taint, but the parliament clearly felt he fell short of that. Lawmakers also shot down the only woman nominated by Karzai, an awkward blow for him because he has pledged to place more women in high government posts.