Psychoblues
02-12-2009, 04:03 AM
I thought we had the war in Afghanistan under control years ago?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Maybe the new Prez is correct?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Richard A. Oppel Jr., Abdul Waheed Wafa and Sangar Rahimi and written by Mr. Oppel.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen struck government buildings at three sites here on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding 57. It was a complex and closely coordinated attack that demonstrated the ease with which the insurgents could penetrate even Kabul, Afghanistan’s heavily fortified capital.
At the Justice Ministry, five Taliban guerrillas armed with explosives and Kalashnikov rifles killed two guards, stormed inside and took control of the building for more than an hour. Frightened employees, including the justice minister, barricaded themselves in their offices while the armed men stalked the halls for victims. At least 10 people were killed, including 2 who were shot in the cross-fire between government forces and the insurgents, security officials said.
Afterward, security forces carried the mangled bodies of the attackers out of the building and, in a sign of deep disrespect, dumped the bodies unceremoniously on the concrete forecourt. All eight attackers at the three sites were killed in addition to their 20 victims, the Interior Ministry said.
Coming on the eve of a scheduled visit by Richard C. Holbrooke, President Obama’s special envoy to the region, who wound down a visit to Pakistan on Wednesday, the attacks underscored the deteriorating security in Afghanistan and the growing sense of siege in the capital.
Mr. Holbrooke’s tour of the region was part of a ground-up review of American policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan ordered by Mr. Obama, who met with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Wednesday to discuss plans to bolster American force levels here. The brazen nature of the attacks was certain to influence the debate among administration officials over the strength of the Taliban, who control much of the countryside and have steadily encroached on Kabul.
The attacks also highlighted the fluid and murky nature of the insurgents’ ties with terrorist networks in Pakistan’s tribal areas, which Mr. Holbrooke visited briefly on Wednesday under Pakistani military escort.
One senior official in Washington said initial intelligence indicated that Wednesday’s attack was probably planned or supported by the Pakistan-based network of Jalaluddin Haqqani.
Mr. Haqqani’s group was also implicated in the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul last summer and might have had the assistance of members of Pakistan’s intelligence agency in that operation, American officials have said.
The attacks on Wednesday were the most audacious since the embassy assault. And in an eerie echo of the attacks in Mumbai, India, in November, which Indian and American intelligence officials say have been traced to a Pakistani militant group, the Taliban gunmen on Wednesday sent three messages to Pakistan seeking the “blessing of their mastermind,” said Amrullah Saleh, director of the Afghan national intelligence service.
Moments later, they began “indiscriminate killing” inside the Justice Ministry, Mr. Saleh said. Officials said 21 people had been detained, but it was not clear what linked them to the attacks.
The multiple coordinated strikes cloaked Kabul, a dusty and chaotic city of four million, in panic for the entire day. Miles of Kabul’s principal thoroughfares were blocked off, as police officers and soldiers rushed to reinforce scores of checkpoints.
Hours later, there were fears that other bombers were still roaming Kabul. In addition to the eight bombers who struck the Justice Ministry, the Education Ministry and the directorate for prisons, eight other bombers were still “looking for a chance,” said a Taliban spokesman, who described the attacks as retaliation for the mistreatment and torture of Taliban prisoners.
Across the city, many streets were empty as residents were too scared to go outside. The attacks clearly unnerved Afghan officials. “The enemy still has the capability to bring this amount of weapons and explosives inside the city of Kabul and find their way to government institutions,” said Hanif Atmar, the interior minister. He promised new and strict security measures that would be “uncomfortable” for residents, but necessary. Many parts of the capital are already sectioned off for security, and foreign embassies sit behind layers of checkpoints and blast walls.
The most confidence-shaking attack, at the Justice Ministry, began about 10 a.m., when five Taliban fighters took over three of the building’s four floors. The ministry is in the heart of the capital, a few hundred yards from the presidential palace.
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th
Maybe we need to pay more attention to details?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!
:beer::cheers2::beer:
Psychoblues
Richard A. Oppel Jr., Abdul Waheed Wafa and Sangar Rahimi and written by Mr. Oppel.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen struck government buildings at three sites here on Wednesday, killing at least 20 people and wounding 57. It was a complex and closely coordinated attack that demonstrated the ease with which the insurgents could penetrate even Kabul, Afghanistan’s heavily fortified capital.
At the Justice Ministry, five Taliban guerrillas armed with explosives and Kalashnikov rifles killed two guards, stormed inside and took control of the building for more than an hour. Frightened employees, including the justice minister, barricaded themselves in their offices while the armed men stalked the halls for victims. At least 10 people were killed, including 2 who were shot in the cross-fire between government forces and the insurgents, security officials said.
Afterward, security forces carried the mangled bodies of the attackers out of the building and, in a sign of deep disrespect, dumped the bodies unceremoniously on the concrete forecourt. All eight attackers at the three sites were killed in addition to their 20 victims, the Interior Ministry said.
Coming on the eve of a scheduled visit by Richard C. Holbrooke, President Obama’s special envoy to the region, who wound down a visit to Pakistan on Wednesday, the attacks underscored the deteriorating security in Afghanistan and the growing sense of siege in the capital.
Mr. Holbrooke’s tour of the region was part of a ground-up review of American policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan ordered by Mr. Obama, who met with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Wednesday to discuss plans to bolster American force levels here. The brazen nature of the attacks was certain to influence the debate among administration officials over the strength of the Taliban, who control much of the countryside and have steadily encroached on Kabul.
The attacks also highlighted the fluid and murky nature of the insurgents’ ties with terrorist networks in Pakistan’s tribal areas, which Mr. Holbrooke visited briefly on Wednesday under Pakistani military escort.
One senior official in Washington said initial intelligence indicated that Wednesday’s attack was probably planned or supported by the Pakistan-based network of Jalaluddin Haqqani.
Mr. Haqqani’s group was also implicated in the attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul last summer and might have had the assistance of members of Pakistan’s intelligence agency in that operation, American officials have said.
The attacks on Wednesday were the most audacious since the embassy assault. And in an eerie echo of the attacks in Mumbai, India, in November, which Indian and American intelligence officials say have been traced to a Pakistani militant group, the Taliban gunmen on Wednesday sent three messages to Pakistan seeking the “blessing of their mastermind,” said Amrullah Saleh, director of the Afghan national intelligence service.
Moments later, they began “indiscriminate killing” inside the Justice Ministry, Mr. Saleh said. Officials said 21 people had been detained, but it was not clear what linked them to the attacks.
The multiple coordinated strikes cloaked Kabul, a dusty and chaotic city of four million, in panic for the entire day. Miles of Kabul’s principal thoroughfares were blocked off, as police officers and soldiers rushed to reinforce scores of checkpoints.
Hours later, there were fears that other bombers were still roaming Kabul. In addition to the eight bombers who struck the Justice Ministry, the Education Ministry and the directorate for prisons, eight other bombers were still “looking for a chance,” said a Taliban spokesman, who described the attacks as retaliation for the mistreatment and torture of Taliban prisoners.
Across the city, many streets were empty as residents were too scared to go outside. The attacks clearly unnerved Afghan officials. “The enemy still has the capability to bring this amount of weapons and explosives inside the city of Kabul and find their way to government institutions,” said Hanif Atmar, the interior minister. He promised new and strict security measures that would be “uncomfortable” for residents, but necessary. Many parts of the capital are already sectioned off for security, and foreign embassies sit behind layers of checkpoints and blast walls.
The most confidence-shaking attack, at the Justice Ministry, began about 10 a.m., when five Taliban fighters took over three of the building’s four floors. The ministry is in the heart of the capital, a few hundred yards from the presidential palace.
More: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/asia/12afghan.html?_r=1&th&emc=th
Maybe we need to pay more attention to details?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!
:beer::cheers2::beer:
Psychoblues