The New York Times on this morning’s suicide car bombing targeting Afghanistan’s intelligence service:
"Suicide bombers riding in minivans struck the headquarters of the Afghan intelligence agency Wednesday, detonating a powerful car bomb and raising questions about how insurgents could pull off such a bold attack in one of the most heavily guarded areas of the city. The explosion went off around noon at one of the gates of the National Directorate of Security, and could be heard for miles around the site.
The attack, which was followed by sporadic gunfire, was believed to have claimed several lives and left dozens injured, though officials have not confirmed any numbers. Injured victims were seen staggering down the street, many covered in blood, after the attack. Sadiq Sadiqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that six insurgents mounted the attack from minibuses, with the first bus exploding in front of the gate of the agency.
The second vehicle, which contained five armed fighters, was stopped by NDS guards at the gate before it could be detonated and all the insurgents were killed, Mr. Sidiqi said. The Taliban later claimed it was responsible for the attack."
ON THE FIGHT
Italy has closed its consular presence in Benghazi on the heels of yet another attack in the violence-riden city that saw Italian nationals the victim of an ambush.
The Washington Post, on France’s efforts to gather a coalition before ultimately deciding to go it alone in Mali:
"The decision to send in French air and ground forces to combat Islamist militias in northern Mali without African or other international partners marked a bold departure for French President Francois Hollande. Since taking over in May, the Socialist leader had been criticized as indecisive and untutored in foreign affairs and had vowed to end France’s role as policeman in tumultuous African countries.
So far, the unexpected switch has paid off; Hollande has been praised at home and abroad for crisp leadership. But should the operation bog down in the dusty vastness of northern Mali, where the Islamists roam, it could become a weight around his neck and an easy target for the conservative opposition in Paris, as well as Islamist and anti-colonial elements around the world.
Hollande said Tuesday that French forces have no intention of remaining in Mali. During a visit to Dubai, he declared that they have been assigned to blunt a recent Islamist offensive; secure the capital, Bamako; and prepare the way for an African force that will assist the Malian army in restoring government authority across northern Mali.
France, which has a long colonial and post-colonial history in Africa, was uniquely equipped to intervene instantaneously in Mali, a former French colony. The French military has built up experience in African affairs with a string of interventions in recent decades. In addition, it has maintained bases in five African countries, with about 5,000 troops, as well as arms, vehicles and warplanes, prepositioned and ready to go.
Most of the French airstrikes since the campaign began Friday have been launched from a base at N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, about 1,200 miles to the east, where French Mirage 2000D fighter-bombers were on hand. Similarly, a military unit equipped with ERC-90 Sagaie armored vehicles, considered important for the broad sweep of the Malian conflict, drove into the country overland from a base in Senegal."
The New York Times has an actual Mali scholar contribute an op-ed on the perils of intervention in Mali.
The former vice commander of US Air Force Special Operations Command is headed to Afghanistan as a top deputy for the newly-invigorated North Atlantic Treaty Organization-Afghanistan Transformation Task Force.
ON THE FORCE
The Navy’s next-generation platform, the Littoral Combat Ship, is plagued with problems. And now, the Navy has released a report expressing doubts about its viability… in combat.
The History Channel has put together an informative listicle on nine little known facts about the Pentagon.
POTOMAC TWO-STEP
Tom Ricks examines the substance of Chuck Hagel’s experiences in the Army and attempts to surmise how that would shape his views on the various force-shaping initiatives on the table as the Pentagon faces budget cuts.
Robert Caruso is a veteran of the United States Navy, and has worked for the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, Business Transformation Agency and the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
