Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf, Pashtun lawmaker and Islamic scholar, kicks off his election campaign

Abdul Rab Rasoul Sayyaf has launched his Afghan presidential bid to succeed Hamid Karzai. Sayyaf has refashioned himself as an influential lawmaker, elder statesman and religious scholar. However, he has been called a mentor to accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the man who welcomed Osama bin Laden to Afghanistan in the 1990s. While Sayyaf is not the only former warlord among the 11 candidates in the April 5 election to succeed Karzai, he appears to have sparked the greatest worry among Westerners because he is seen as having a viable chance at winning. When Sayyaf appeared before thousands of supporters in Kabul on Thursday, he laid out a vision for Afghanistan's future that bore striking similarities to the policy platforms of many of the more moderate presidential hopefuls. Staunchly anti-Taliban, Sayyaf spoke of the importance of fighting corruption and boosting security. He expressed an openness to signing a security deal with the US, which Karzai has refused. "We are surrounded by threats, therefore we need to have close relations and deep relations with the whole world," he said. Sayyaf promised that as president, he would respect the decision of a council of tribal elders known as the Loya Jirga, which two months ago approved an accord that would allow a small number of US troops to stay in Afghanistan after NATO combat troops withdraw at the end of this year. "We are part of this nation and we support their decisions," Sayyaf said of the Loya Jirga You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/5cbc53e1c63b502790e4e0da8829144f Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork