Afghanistan

Report from Afghanistan

On Saturday, April 26, 2008 the Taliban opened fire on the Afghan President and his cabinet during a military parade in honor of the defeat of the Red Army in the 1989 Soviet Invasion. During this parade the Afghan army, decked out in their dress uniforms and freshly painted vehicles, were expecting to take a routine military parade march in front of Hamid Karzai. Sadly this wasn’t the case. The Taliban ambushed the parade and opened fire. The military, unarmed and unprepared, had no choice but to run or become sitting ducks to the onslaught. Hamid Karzai barely escaped with the help of his two American trained bodygaurds. The causualty in this story, are two ministers plus many others injured.

This attempt on Karzai’s life was very alarming. Afghanistan is still a fledgling democracy and if he fell, then all hope falls with him. The Afghani Government and military are weak and unable to excersie their power in the countryside. It was because of this problem that the Taliban were able to get so close to Karzai in the first place. The wild tribal territories are opportune areas for them to regroup and plan plus the relative easiness of access to Pakistan gives them ample opportunity to gain more power and influence.

The moral of this story is, instead of creating an extravagant show of mediocre armaments and lack of military might, the National celebration could have been one for the people employing the arts and tighter security.  It seemed as though the Afghan government took a que from the Russians considering they have a certian prefrence towards military parades. But still credit is given to those who continue to try and better their country in the face of adversity.

© 2008 Metropolis Lights.