The Taleban suicide attack on Monday in Kabul was the sort of spectacular crime, which terrorists around the world dream of. It was timed to coincide with the moment when Afghan President Hamid Karzai was swearing in those members of his new Cabinet who had been approved by an independent-minded Parliament. It was also designed to send Karzai off to the London conference at the end of this month with his authority further tarnished in the eyes of both Afghan and the international community.
Yet although the attackers managed to pass through strict security controls and smuggle in a variety of weapons, including heavy machine guns, this was not the success they had hoped for. There are three reasons for this. The first is numerical. Seven of the terrorists are dead for the loss of three security personnel and two civilians, one of them a child. Some other attackers have reportedly been captured. Taleban claims that 20 of its people took part in the assault are probably false and designed to confuse the authorities. Though there has also been some damage to the capital’s central government district, it has been far from catastrophic. Therefore this attack, for all its audacity, was a failure.
The second reason revolves around why it failed. Afghan police and army units moved rapidly to contain and kill the terrorists. International media would have the world believe the quality of Karzai’s security forces is low, as is their morale. The decisive way in which they responded to the assailants was clear proof this analysis is wrong. It may indeed be that the very best security units are reserved to protect Kabul’s government district. Nevertheless, these men acquitted themselves in a highly creditable manner.
And then there is the third and more subtle reason why the Taleban have lost this encounter. It has prompted a review of security. If there were collaborators who assisted the terrorists to infiltrate this high-security area, they are likely to be found out, if they have not already fled. If the killers exploited a loophole in the security cordon, it is almost certain to be closed. More such attacks will surely follow but each time, they are going to be harder to pull off. It seems that, unlike their counterparts in Pakistan, the Afghan police and military have already learned valuable lessons from past outrages.
Thus when Karzai boards his flight to the London conference he will not be the humiliated and devalued leader the Taleban hope for. Afghans are resigned to further terror crimes but as the recent opinion poll showed, nevertheless feel more positive about their future than they have in years. People from all tribal backgrounds, including the Pashtun from whom the Taleban draw the greatest support, do not want to return to the rule of the Taleban.
They know their country is shot through with bribery — costing $2.4 billion a year according to a UN report — but the present government, for all its imperfections, currently offers the only realistic option for better future.
