Afghans vote in presidential elections (LAT) today amid threats of violence from the Taliban. The vote will decide between incumbent President Hamid Karzai and thirty contenders. Ten candidates dropped out just before the election, most of them throwing their support behind Karzai.

There were several reports of violence around the country as Taliban insurgents attempted to make good on their pledge to disrupt the election. Police killed two Taliban fighters (Reuters) after a gunfight with police in Kabul.

Turnout appeared uneven across the country, with higher participation in the more stable north, the New York Times reports.  Afghan poll monitors were covering more than 60 percent of polling places, but were not in force in some of the most insecure districts, according to the head of the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan.

Analysis:
In an interview with CFR, leading Afghanistan expert Ahmed Rashid discusses the possibility that a low voter turnout caused by Taliban violence could lead to a constitutional deadlock.

In a new interview, CFR's Daniel Markey looks at neighboring Pakistan's stake in the election. He says Pakistan, confronting its own Taliban insurgency, has an interest in seeing Afghanistan's presidential elections yield a legitimate government that brings stability.

TIME considers the importance of the youth vote in Afghanistan.

Background:
A new CFR interactive timeline chronicles the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

Der Spiegel looks at the battle between German NATO troops and the Taliban for control over Afghanistan's Kunduz province.

A CFR Backgrounder profiles the Taliban in Afghanistan.