Suicide Bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan
Published 39 months ago
War Child CEO Mark Waddington on the link between the coalition's military successes and suicide bombings.
The enormous thud on Sunday morning that rattled the windows of my hotel room was the sound of the murder of more than 35 police men and innocent civilians here in Kabul.
A man, dressed as a beggar, walked onto the bus as it stopped to pick up another group of policemen on their way to work, shuffled into the centre of the bus and detonated the bomb.
The appalling loss of life and destruction in the middle of the Kabul rush hour as people made their way to work, bought food from street side stalls to feed their families, and escorted their children to school was a shock to Kabulis. All those interviewed by local TV at the scene of the explosion condemned it.
Then later in the day news came in that coalition forces had bombed a Mosque in eastern Afghanistan, killing seven children.
The mother of one of my Afghan colleagues rang him to find out if he was okay. She cried: relief and then anguish at the prosecution of such destruction upon Afghans by other Afghans.
So what could have driven an Afghan to do this: there is no tradition of suicide bombings here. Speculation abounds, but try ticking one or more of the following: massive unemployment and poverty, a fear of western domination under the auspices of military occupation, the increasing body count of Afghans at the hands of coalition forces, disillusion with a puppet and ineffectual government, jihadists and extremism, lack of widespread education and vulnerability to political and religious manipulation, and neighbouring countries with regional agendas.
Pakistan has strong Pashtun ties with Afghanistan and their secret service is implicated in many of the recent incidents in Afghanistan. It was no surprise, therefore, that a Pakistani man was arrested at the site of Sunday's bombing attempting to film the explosion.
Perhaps this is more complex. Perhaps it's the collision of modernity and tradition, religion and politics, culture and economy. Perhaps it's a struggle for a new identity, a struggle that is exploited by those involved in orchestrating these collisions. Whatever the cause, it's wrong. Period.
And all of us should take note. Because with every military success that the coalition forces achieve here in Afghanistan, the ultra conservatives, the warlords and the Taleban will be forced to employ new tactics that target soft targets. Civilians. NGOs. Religious leaders. And that will create the theatre for terrorism, the very reason why coalition forces first entered Afghanistan.
Mark Waddington, CEO War Child
