Karzai’s Close Call (and other misadventures)
Posted by StormWarning on 27 Apr 2008 at 06:53 am | Tagged as: Afghanistan, Commentary, Current Affairs, International Issues, Jihad, Opinions, Predictions
Hamid Karzai has once again escaped assassination today when Taliban insurgents sent mortar fire and bullets at a spectator stand where he was speaking. This occurs within hours of his declaration that the U.S. should “leave the Taliban alone.” One person died and 11 were injured. There have been atlleast 3 earlier attempts to kill him - this is the first time an attempt was made in Kabul.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and said that it had disrupted the ceremony to show that it could carry out an attack anywhere in Afghanistan. “We cannot say Afghanistan is free. Afghanistan is still under the domination of infidels. This ceremony being held by Mujahadeen is baseless,” Zabiullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman, said when contacted by telephone.
Note the use of the word “mujahadeen.” But for the counterpoint, we have Karzai deriding the U.S. and the U.K. to let him deal with the Taliban. So here, thanks to the BBC, are pictures of the attack. I’m certain that there are people smarter than me who disagree about the tenuous condition of the Afghan government. Just as I am sure that some people will argue that Karzai was not the target and that the Taliban (or some other group of “baddies” were simply trying to disrupt the ceremony (celebrating 16 years since Kabul was taken from the Soviet-led government), but “whatevah!”
Hamid Karzai, the Afghan president, has called on British and American troops to stop arresting Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, saying that their operations undermined his government’s authority and were counter-productive.
I still want Karzai in the World leader death pool (with the over/under).
assassination, Karzai, mujahadeen, Taliban, World Leader death pool
