4 questions to ponder ahead of Afghanistan's presidential election (+video) --- Afghanistan's presidential election campaign – the third running action-packed festival of vote-buying, ballot-box stuffing and intimidation of citizens – began this week with a wide-open field. The only sure thing is that mercurial President Hamid Karzai will be out of power when the dust settles, thanks to a term-limit in the country's constitution. -- Karzai's term is ending amid questions about whether the US and NATO will be allowed to keep any forces in the country beyond the end of the year. Karzai has refused to sign an agreement making that possible, saying the decision should be made by his successor. -- Meanwhile the Taliban is still potent and the country relies economically on foreign aid and a booming opium industry. After over $100 billion spent on Afghan reconstruction (by comparison, West Germany received about $30 billion in 2013 dollars under the Marshall Plan), there are few signs of an economic boom taking hold. -- Here are a few things to consider ahead of the April vote.- More, Dan Murphy, csmonitor, at: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Security-Watch/Backchannels/2014/0204/4-questions-to-ponder-ahead-of-Afghanistan-s-presidential-election-video