New Afghan cabinet picks still generate resistance

President Hamid Karzai made a second effort to fill his cabinet on Saturday, nominating 16 new ministers a week after Parliament had rejected most of his first choices. But several Parliament members said they were as unimpressed by the new slate, which included many political unknowns, as they were with the first one. Their displeasure could prolong the stalemate that has left Afghanistan without a fully functional government since the widely criticized presidential election last summer. Also on Saturday, Afghan officials signed an agreement that will allow the American military to begin the process of transferring responsibility for the notorious prison at Bagram Air Base to Afghan control. When Parliament rejected 17 of Mr. Karzai's first batch of 24 nominees, the move was hailed by some analysts as a sign of the legislature's newfound independence. The legislators asked that Mr. Karzai choose more technocrats who had expertise in the work of the ministries they were nominated to lead.