Security in Afghanistan

Security in Afghanistan rests on the edge of a knife. Many of you know I've spent time in a few rough places--Post-Saddam Iraq, West Bank & Gaza, Macedonia right after the civil war, Saudi Arabia during the SCUD attacks, etc. etc. Kabul is more stable than some of those places, less stable than others. What is a little disconcerting is that the air in Kabul feels like the deep breath before the plunge. There have been a few attacks, kidnappings, some suicide bombs, and occasional rocket attacks from the hills around, but the air still seems relatively positive. People are out and about doing there business. There is money moving around. There appears to be a government. What concerns me is that it could change any minute--if the Taliban ever take a lesson from the insurgents in Iraq, and launch large attacks against civilian targets then this place will unravel very quickly. Unfortunately, it would be an easy thing to do, and I wonder why the Taliban have not decisively taken the next step in this country's descent back into hell. Maybe they dislike hell as much as the rest of us? It would be a nice thought.