Taliwatch

The Times has been producing insightful Afghanistan coverage lately: two pieces today, one a feature on Afghan disgust for suicide bombers and another about the American-led forces' ham-fisted approach at counter-insurgency, leading to countless civilian casualties, lay it out well. Hats off to Barry Bearak and Taimoor Shah: that's a feat of objectivity.

And so, we see the madrassas, stemming from those Pakistan set up in the 1980s to build the mujahideen, which birthed Al Qaeda, still thriving in the craggy regions bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the typically fanatic Wahhab form, the students are taught that all Afghans are infidels.

And they consider themselves holy warriors, do they?

It reminds me of another recent Times article, about the etiquette of jihadi murder. Food for thought: they're allowed to kill children. This certainly takes fraudulence to a new level.