In Afghanistan, officials say Taliban militants have abducted at least nineteen officials and workers involved in Saturday’s parliamentary elections. Militant groups have vowed to launch attacks to disrupt the vote, where 249 seats are up for grabs. At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered a tempered defense of the Afghan war effort, saying it could take months before the US will be able to show it’s “moving in the right direction.”

Defense Secretary Robert Gates: “I don’t want to mislead anybody. This is a hard fight. There are many challenges ahead. We will lose more kids. But I think General Petraeus has the feeling we’re on the right track. It’s early, and we just — we need to have confidence in and be able to demonstrate, I would say in four to six months, that we are moving in the right direction. We are moving toward the accomplishment of our goals.”