Afghan President Hamid Karzai (R) speaks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (L) at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on June 17, 2009. Between 8,000 and 10,000 international troops will join a NATO-led military force in Afghanistan for August elections, the outgoing NATO secretary general said on a farewell visit to Kabul. Getty Images logo Getty Images 6 months ago

Afghan President Hamid Karzai (R) speaks with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (L) at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on June 17, 2009. Between 8,000 and 10,000 international troops will join a NATO-led military force in Afghanistan for August elections, the outgoing NATO secretary general said on a farewell visit to Kabul.

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  1. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - OCTOBER 28: An Afghan policeman stands guard by a Karzai poster after tensions in city remain high after a suicide bomb attack on an international guest house October 28, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Taliban militants killed six U.N. foreign staff in the early morning assault raising serious issues about security before the Presidential run-off election in less tham two weeks time. Rockets were also fired at a the Serena hotel but no injuries were reported.
  2. A poster of legendary assassinated Afghan mujahideen commander Ahmad Shah Massoud is displayed next to one portraying President Hamid Karzai at a Kabul cinema while a worker sets up scaffolding on September 28, 2009. Afghans considered Massoud a national hero who waged battle against Soviets and Talibans while Karzai awaits final result of the poll recounts of the August 20 presidential elections the second such election in the war-torn nation's history and one held amid a vicious Taliban insurgency against the Western-backed government which deterred voters.
  3. Daily wages laborers stand near an election poster of Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, center, with first vice president Mohammad Qasim Fahim and second vice president Mohammad Karim Khalili, right, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009. The U.N. is warning that violence in Afghanistan could increase after the results from the country's disputed presidential election are finally tallied and disclosed. Preliminary results from the Aug. 20 vote show President Hamid Karzai with 54.6 percent.
  4. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai arrives to speak to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  5. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  6. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - SEPTEMBER 17: President Hamid Karzai speaks to the media for the first time since full preliminary results were announced at the Presidential palace on September 17, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. Immediately after the President delivered his election message to the international media, Italian soldiers, who have stationed 2,800 soldiers in the region, suffered their deadliest attack in Afghanistan to date. Six Italian soldiers and ten Afghans were killed, including 55 wounded as the blast hit in a mostly residential area of the city. While Karzai stated today that some government officials were biased toward him in the election, he defended himself and the integrity of the vote against all the allegations of fraud and ballot box stuffing. Presently Karzai has 54.6 percent of the vote, well ahead of his leading challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The ongoing recounts and fraud investigations by the Election Complaints commission (ECC), however, could drive Karzai's total below the crucial 50 percent, forcing a runoff election.
  7. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) shakes hands with Latvia's President Valdis Zatlers in Riga October 8, 2009.
  8. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) speaks as Latvia's President Valdis Zatlers listens during a news conference in Riga October 8, 2009.
  9. NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) speaks as Latvia's President Valdis Zatlers listens during a news conference in Riga October 8, 2009.
  10. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) and Latvian President Valdis Zatlers give a joint press conference on October 8, 2009 in Riga.
  11. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) and Latvian President Valdis Zatlers (R) arrive to give a joint press conference on October 8, 2009 in Riga.
  12. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (L) listens to Latvian President Valdis Zatlers during a joint press conference on October 8, 2009 in Riga.
  13. RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2009 - France's President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) speaks to his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy as he arrives at the Place de la Concorde in Paris to attend the Bastille day parade, July 14, 2009. (L-R) Nicolas Sarkozy, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer's wife Jeannine de Hoop Scheffer, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 's wife Gursharan Kaur, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's wife Bun Rany Hun Sen.
  14. U.S. President Barack Obama (L) speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2nd L), NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer (2nd R) and Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown before a working dinner at the Kurhaus in Baden-Baden April 3, 2009. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week at a summit co-hosted by Germany and France.
  15. Polish President Lech Kaczynski (R) speaks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, his wife Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and his wife Jeannine de Hoop Scheffer-van Oorschot (L-2R) before the cultural event at Kurhaus in Baden-Baden, April 3, 2009. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) military alliance is celebrating its 60th anniversary this week at a summit co-hosted by Germany and France.
  16. LONDON - NOVEMBER 12: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II holds an audience with the NATO Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, inside Buckingham Palace on November 12, 2009 in London, England. Mr Rasmussen took office as NATO Secretary-General on August 1 of this year, replacing the outgoing Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and has previously served as the Prime Minister of Denmark.

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