SECOND SUICIDE BOMBING KILLS 37 IN AFGHANISTAN: 100 KILLED ON SUNDAY

Just as was anticipated the insurgents and the Taliban have shifted their attacks away from Iraq and are now targeting Afghanistan.

On Sunday 100 people were killed in Afghanistan when a suicide bomber blew themselves up at a dog fight, and on Monday another 37 were killed in Afghanistan when a suicide bomber set off an explosive in the middle of a foreign military convoy. The deaths were mostly Afghan civilians.

The Taliban as well as Al Queda have been showing signs of stepping up their attacks in Afghanistan where the United States military has over 25,000 troops.

There is already talk in the Bush White House and at the Pentagon of sending additional troops into Afghanistan.

Commentary: President Bush obviously bit off more than he can chew when he decided to invade both Afghanistan and Iraq.

The resurgence of the Taliban and Al Queda in Afghanistan is very worrisome, and military leaders in Iraq are now saying the withdrawal of troops from Iraq will probably not take place.

The United States military--especially the Army and the Marines---are stretched to the breaking point and are in dire need of more recruits to offset the rotations that find some units going back to Iraq and Afghanistan for their third fourth or fifth tour.

The "surge" in Iraq is like a band-aid and there is already talk it will not have a lasting effect on the violence in Iraq which is already showing signs of increasing.

A female suicide bomber killed three people on Sunday in Baghdad and the bodies of ten Iraqi citizens who had been decapitated were found in Baghdad.

There are also troubling signs with the Iraqi government as members of the Sunni bloc are voicing displeasure with the way the government is handling matters in Iraq.

The British government was in Iraq for 30 years with 90,000 troops and were never able to bring stability to Iraq.

There is no reason to believe the results will be any different even if the U.S. military stays in Iraq and Afghanistan for the next 100 years as Sen. John McCain has proposed.

Bill Corcoran, Chicago, editor of CORKSPHERE, http://corksphere.blogspot.com/ the blog that tells the TRUTH about Iraq and Afghanistan and not Bush White House and FOX NEWS spin.

Suicide bomber kills 37 in Afghanistan

18 Feb 2008 13:42:53 GMT 18 Feb 2008 13:42:53 GMT Source: Reuters

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP294429.htm

By Mirwais Afghan and Ismail Sameem

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A suicide bomber targeting a foreign military convoy in Afghanistan killed 37 civilians in an attack near the Pakistan border on Monday, the interior ministry said.

The attack, a day after more than 100 people were killed in the deadliest suspected suicide raid since the Taliban were overthrown in 2001, comes as some Western politicians call for a stronger resolve to stop Afghanistan sliding back into anarchy.

"The suicide attack ... caused the killing of 37 non-combatants and wounding of 30 others," the ministry said in a statement in Kabul.

The attack happened on a narrow bridge in the bustling town of Spin Boldak in southern Kandahar province, a stronghold for Taliban insurgents fighting the Afghan government and its Western backers.

Kandahar's governor Assadullah Khalid told a news conference the bomber was in a car and had attacked a convoy of Canadian troops serving under NATO's command. Four Canadians were wounded, he said. But another official from the area said two foreign soldiers also died.

A NATO spokesman in Kabul confirmed the blast, but refused to provide more details. Several fuel shops were on fire in Spin Boldak after the bombing, witnesses said.

Despite the presence of more than 50,000 foreign soldiers led by NATO and the U.S. military, as well as some 140,000 Afghan troops, Taliban militants have made a comeback in the past two years and more than 11,000 people have been killed in violence.

Sunday's attack happened as a crowd of people were watching dog fights in Arghandab, on the western outskirts of Kandahar city. Dozens of victims were buried side-by-side in a mourning ceremony on Monday.

Provincial governor Khalid has accused the Taliban of the attack, but the insurgents denied responsibility.

Khalid said he had intelligence about the attack and had tipped off the Canadian forces about it.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday she saw no need to change parliamentary mandates limiting the number of troops her government can send to Afghanistan, despite mounting pressure from NATO allies.

"We are not changing the mandates as they are at the moment," Merkel told reporters. "I see no need for a change at the moment."

Germany, which has roughly 3,300 troops in Afghanistan, is under pressure from allies, particularly the United States, to send additional soldiers and shift them from the north to the more dangerous south to help battle Taliban insurgents.

The main mandate, due to expire in October, allows Germany to send a maximum of 3,500 soldiers to Afghanistan. German media have reported Merkel's government seeks to increase the number of troops.