Breaking: Massive Taliban attack on Kabul hotel http://hotair.com/archives/2011/06/28/breaking-massive-taliban-attack-on-kabul-hotel/ POSTED AT 4:10 PM ON JUNE 28, 2011 BY ALLAHPUNDIT PRINTER-FRIENDLY In progress as I write this. Sounds … Mumbai-esque. A group of suicide bombers attacked the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul Tuesday, and fighting was ongoing with Afghan security forces, Chief of Criminal Investigation Mohammed Zahir told CNN. A spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, said a group of Taliban bombers was responsible for the 10 p.m. attack on the hotel, which is popular among international guests. There were no immediate details on casualties. The hotel is located on a hill on the outskirts of Kabul and is typically protected by heavy security. A news conference was scheduled to take place Wednesday in the hotel to discuss the planned transition of security from international to Afghan forces. The hotel’s power has reportedly been cut, presumably by the bombers. Why they’d bother doing that if this is a simple suicide-bomb mission, I’m not sure. Alternate theory: Like Mumbai, this is not a simple suicide-bomb mission. Associated Press reporters at the scene heard bursts of gunfire and saw shooting from the roof of the five-story Inter-Continental hotel that sits on a hill overlooking the city. Police ordered bystanders to lay on the ground for safety. There was no immediate word on casualties in the rare, nighttime attack in the Afghan capital. A guest who was inside also said he heard gunfire echoing throughout the building. Streets leading to the hotel were blocked and the electricity was out… Azizullah, an Afghan police officer who uses only one name, told an Associated Press reporter at the scene that at least one bomber entered the hotel and detonated a vest of explosives. Another police officer, who would not disclose his name, said there were at least two suicide bombers. The Times says there could be as many as six suicide bombers on the scene, and reportedly at least three are carrying light and heavy weapons. According to a Taliban spokesman, who took credit for the attack on behalf of the group, the attackers “are breaking into each room and they are targeting the 300 Afghans and foreigners who are staying.” Systematic murder, in other words, not indiscriminate explosions; presumably, they’re wearing vests in case they’re cornered by U.S. and Afghan troops and want to take a few with them at the moment of truth. Why target the hotel? Multiple possible reasons. One: As noted by CNN, there’s a presser scheduled there tomorrow to announce a handover of security duties from NATO to the Afghan army. Preempting that by running wild in the hotel carries symbolic value. Two: It’s a soft target in Kabul, Karzai’s stronghold, not a military outpost in some far-flung eastern or southern province. That’s a message to NATO commanders that the battlefield this year might be a lot bigger than they think. And three, obviously: They want to capitalize on Obama’s withdrawal announcement to show that not only haven’t they been defeated, they’re still strong enough to wreak havoc right under NATO’s nose in a supposedly heavily guarded tourist spot. Just as I’m writing this, NBC’s claiming that three attackers have blown themselves up; no word on where the other three are or how many people in the hotel are dead. Stand by for updates.
Let's guess what religion they are. The article doesn't say. I'm guessing Catholic. Remember the Crusades?
But Obam just said there was "a light in the tunnel' to quote from the frequent refrain in Vietnam. Maybe someone can remember Obama's exact words: "turned the corner" or somesuch. Hey it's summer the Taliban (i.e. the most organized faction of the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan) will stil be there after 2014. Why have more US troops killed just to fit the US presidential election cycles?
Why is this thread not about the victims of this attack? Can we at least pretend to care about them? This thread should not be in the politics section.
You have to find out who inspired these young people to blow themselves up and go after them, put them down. DD
I don't understand why we have to be the policeman of the entire world or at least pretend to be. We have brought upon ourselves harm and fear on an even greater magnitude than we what we are supposedly stopping.
Let's guess what gender they are. The article doesn't say. I'm guessing women. Remember the uh...um...
I'm guessing an article about an attack in a country that's 99% Muslim doesn't need to state the religion of the terrorists or a large portion of the victims. Remember deductive reasoning? What do you need print verification for anyways? "Forced error for the Mooooozilems.."
Sad, (or predictable?) how we all have to make political jabs instead of appreciating just how grim this damn story is. Edit: At least mugrakers is on the right track.
did they blow themselves up because they were men (or women?) did the kill their victims because of some (perverted) message they inferred from their religion? answer those two questions and i think you'll see why the former aspect is not germane, and the latter is.
That's just a little ol' pop fart event in the course of this shart. Just pointless really. Won't the Chinese buy these guys out if we leave? They have trillions in minerals right? And the Chinese won't put up with heroine. It's a win/win
Well when you are poor and there is no hope for the future those 72 virgins probably look real nice. Unless we can improve the afghan economy I don't see a stop.
Did they blow themselves up because in every culture, men are told to suck it, to withhold pain, to become warriors, and sacrificial pawns for their society? Did they kill their victims because of the perverted ideology of masculinity that demands violence as a rite of passage, and urges "an eye for an eye" lest you be emasculated and subject to humiliation? Why is it that it happens to be so many angry young men that commit violent crimes? If there's no tangential link, then pray tell, why does the media and people like you focus so much on conjuring this image of a violent Muslim, or a violent black based on the statistic that a certain amount of violence is committed by these groups---while ignoring the greater reality that of that group, the vast, and I mean vast majority of violent crimes are committed by a distinct group---men. I'm not really a fan of demonizing groups in general, so I usually don't even follow this logic...but you should. If one has an interest into why Muslims seem to commit a disproportionate amount of crimes, then surely one has a greater interest in the much greater amount of dis-portion in violent crimes by gender? 50% of the world is male. 50% female. Yet 90+% of violent crimes are committed by males. what are we doing wrong in this case? teaching boys to automatically confine themselves to some absurd "John Wayne" gender role is as perverting as teaching Muslims to kill infidels. I'll leave you to figure out why you focus more on the latter rather than the former. I don't take stock much in both (I believe each individual is different, and desperate times will turn desperate people onto desperate forms of ideology fraught with different circumstances that are hard to lump into black-and-white groups), but for someone who does, the examination might be insightful.
The only thing trending up in these days in our finite stock of supplies is a growing group of young, angry men, with nothing to lose. Do not expect too many MLKs, if we continue on our current path.
