Afghanistan deaths underscore bloody war

Laghmani helped lead the National Directorate of Security, a central body combating the insurgency and terrorism, and had long been seen as a prime target for terrorists. For that reason, he had a substantial security force, which makes his death even more ominous.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has just submitted a comprehensive review of the strategic military situation. Reportedly the classified analysis emphasizes seriously deteriorating security in the nation, but also argues victory over the insurgency is possible with changes in approach. The suicide attack provides bloody punctuation to McChrystal's report, underscoring the sensitivity of effective insurgents to timing.

Finally, Afghanistan has just held national elections. Based on information from about 60 percent of the polling sites, incumbent President Hamid Karzai has pulled ahead of principal rival Abdullah Abdullah, capturing 47.3 percent of the votes for a 15 percent lead. But strident complaints of vote fraud are widespread and growing.

Security in Afghanistan has deteriorated for months. In June 2008, a dramatic prison break in Kandahar freed approximately one thousand people, including an estimated four hundred hard-core insurgents. Last New Year's Eve, the Taliban scored a major tactical military as well as political victory through killing members of the security force of Abdul Salam, the commander of Musa Qala, a long-contested city in southern Afghanistan.

From a broader perspective, the long-term intense preoccupation of the Bush administration with Iraq provided an opportunity for the enemy in Afghanistan to regroup and rebuild. At this point there can be no doubt that the Taliban very effectively seized and exploited that opportunity.

Nevertheless, and despite the negative tone of much media commentary, there are also notably encouraging developments. First, the efforts in Afghanistan from the start, immediately after the 9/11 attacks, have been truly international. Both the United Nations and NATO are committed, in contrast to the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.

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