With turnout in the elections over the weekend in Afghanistan around 50 percent -- one million voters lower than the approximately seven million that voted in that country's elections for president last year -- many are wondering what effect threats by the former Taliban had on voters.
After spending a week in the country before the elections, MSNBC analyst Con Coughlin, writer at large for London's Sunday Telegraph and author of 'Saddam: King of Terror,' joined MSNBC's Randy Meier on Monday to discuss the Taliban and the turnout.
"It's quite clear that the Taliban is very much alive and kicking and has engaged in a campaign of intimidation against ordinary voters," Coughlin said. "Even last week people were being killed in the southern provinces of Afghanistan simply for having voter registration cards on them. That's the level of intimidation we're talking about.
Coughlin said that former members of the Taliban are taking different approaches in their attempt to regain influence in Afghanistan.
"It's expected that at least half a dozen former Taliban officials, including the former Taliban foreign minister, will be sitting in parliament," Coughlin said, noting that results will not be known for a month. "President Karzai has basically extended the olive branch to these people as part of a national reconciliation process, but what a lot of Afghans fear is that basically the Taliban is trying to get back into power through the back door. There are those Taliban who prepared to engage in the democratic process, but there are a lot of others who basically see it as something to be attacked."
That said, Coughlin noted that those Taliban officials that are elected will likely have to share power with women. Having women in parliament will send a powerful message, Coughlin said that one candidate told him.
"I spoke to one of the female candidates, a former schoolteacher whose school was closed by the Taliban - she herself was beaten because she showed some of her ankle - and she told me 'I think it's my duty to stand up against them. We're going to have a democratic system, and this is my opportunity, in a Democratic way to say 'No, you can't terrorize our country anymore,'" Coughlin said.
To watch the entire interview between Randy Meier and Con Coughlin, click on the "Launch" button above and to the right. with and can be seen weekdays from 9 a.m.-Noon.
