Afghanistan is readying for its first democratic election on October 9, 2004. A recent survey indicates that Afghanis are eager for democracy and some 81 percent of them intend to vote.

But violence is raging and tensions are high. Last week, the humanitarian-aid organization “Doctors Without Borders” announced it is packing its bags and leaving the country after 24 years of work. The organization is furious about the murder of five of its workers in June and the government’s intransigence in investigating the attack.

President Karzai’s pick of Ahmed Zia Massoud as his running mate over his current defense minister, who has ties to warlords and militias, was followed by intense politicking and has angered warlords.

Tune in for a close look at Afghanistan’s prospects for real security and democracy.

Guests:

Raheem Yaseer, Assistant Director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha

Kevin Lanigan, Army Reservist with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan in 2002-3, consultant for the Asia Foundation in Afghanistan

Craig Charney, president of Charney Research, which conducted Afghanistan’s first national political opinion poll

Michael Neuman, Program Officer for Doctors Without Borders in New York.