Peace threatened in Afghanistan

Thursday's assassination attempt on Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai, and a bombing in Kabul, raise new questions about the threats faced by the new Afghan government – and what to do about them.

The attacks are likely to reignite the debate over expanding the international peacekeeping force beyond Kabul. They are also likely to underscore the need for better intelligence and cooperation between Afghan and international security forces, say experts. Even before Thursday's attacks, there were growing signs of tension and distrust between the American military and the Afghan intelligence agency, Amniat.

American officials say they are disrupting Al Qaeda's ability to regroup and plan another major terrorist attack. Afghan officials say Al Qaeda has already regrouped, and is easily evading American, Pakistani, and Afghan attempts to bring them to justice.

"We have told the Americans everything. We don't know why the US is not taking action on our information," says the deputy chief of Afghanistan's intelligence service, Aman Khan. "Maybe they don't trust our reports. But if they trust a bunch of illiterate warlords out in the provinces, why don't they trust our information? Our men are skilled, they are experts."

It's a debate with ramifications for the war on terrorism. If Mullah Muhammad Omar or Osama bin Laden is still alive, and continuing to operate, and if the lives of ordinary Afghans don't improve with massive foreign aid, there could be a severe backlash against the American presence here and the new Afghan government, say analysts.

That point may have been underscored Thursday. President Karzai was unharmed in an apparent assassination attempt by a guard who fired on his convoy as he was leaving the governor's mansion in Kandahar. Karzai's American bodyguards returned fire, killing three people, according to Associated Press. Gov. Gul Agha Sherzai was also wounded.

The attack occurred shortly after the worst bombing in string of recent attacks in the Afghan capital. A car bomb exploded near a Kabul market, killing at least 10 people and wounding scores.

Kabul police quickly blamed former Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, now an exiled leader of an Islamic faction. Mr. Hekmatyar, a former CIA-supported leader, was also cited recently by the Turkish head of the international peacekeeping force as linked to al Qaeda and ousted Taliban leaders. Hekmatyar has denied any connection.

Thursday's bombing and assassination attempt point out again how difficult it is to secure such a divided country – no matter who is in charge. "When the Russians were so deeply involved in the place they had all kinds of soldiers and security efforts, but it cost them dearly and they still didn't get too far with it," says Arthur Hulnick, a former CIA official. "You'd have to beef up the international peacekeeping considerably to have any impact, and I don't know who wants to do that," says Mr. Hulnick, now a professor of international relations at Boston University.

IN an interview conducted before Thursday's attack, Afghan deputy intelligence chief Khan says he's certain that Al Qaeda has regrouped. Based on his agency's network of local spies, and interrogators trained by the Soviet Union, he says he even has the locations of the top Taliban and Al Qaeda leaders, the number of their foreign fighters, and their addresses in Pakistan.

Page: 1 | 2