While everyone focuses their attention on Iraq and increasingly Iran, the levels of violence in Afghanistan has spiked to its highest level since 2001. Attacks alone have risen 20 percent. The AP reports on a particularly gruesome suicide attack on a police bus that killed 13 people.
"The bombing, which ripped the roof off the bus, was the second to target a bus in Kabul in four days. It came as insurgents turned up attacks against Afghanistan's security forces during a year of record violence.Four children were among the 13 people killed in Tuesday's suicide attack by a man wearing a pakul — an Afghan hat commonly seen in the country's north — and a shawl around the upper half of his body called a chador, said Amin Gul, who owns a metalworking shop next to the blast site.
'When the bus came, an old man got on, then a woman with two children, then the guy wearing the chador entered, and then a big boom,' said Gul, who witnessed the attack.
The seats in the front of the bus were covered in blood and small body parts, and workers washed blood from nearby trees after the attack. Ten people were wounded in the bombing, Health Minister Mohammad Amin Fatemi said."
Many years, lives and taxpayer dollars later, Afghanistan today shows no true sign of progress. The US has shown support for Karzai's offers to talk with the Taliban, poppy production has skyrocketed and many farmers have taken to growing marijuana, and the United States is once again back to the tired 'Most Wanted Poster' gig. The current policy, unfortunately, offers little to no real chance in succeeding and has actually brought the conflict around full circle. Go figure.
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