Don't mention the fraud

The BBC has certainly made the running with its stories about fraud in the Afghanistan elections. It is now reporting an "explosive" row on the issue between President Karzai and US special envoy Richard Holbrooke. It says that Lord Ashdown has expressed concerns that undermining the election could have disastrous consequences.

He said: "The effect of it could be to de-legitimise the whole process.

"If it is the case that the Americans by some form or another have declared these elections illegitimate as it were, have undermined the legitimacy of the electoral process, then our capacity to be able to win back the support of the Pashtun tribes from the Taliban is lessened."

It's an interesting idea, that you should keep quiet about a fraudulent election, especially if your mission is to spread democracy.