November 2, 2006: While the large groups of Taliban fighters are returning to their villages, or camps across the border in Pakistan, suicide bombers will apparently continue to operate through the Winter. While the suicide bombers target foreign troops, they mostly kill Afghans. So far this year, 115 foreign troops have been killed in Afghanistan, up from 75 last year. Although Afghanistan and Iraq have about the same population, seven times as many foreign troops are killed in Iraq. That's largely because the anti-government forces in Iraq (the Sunni Arabs, who want to get back into power) are a much larger minority (about 15 percent of the population) than the Taliban are in Afghanistan.
October 31, 2006: Police arrested three members of a suicide bombing cell. The men were trying to enter Kabul. Two of the men were Pakistanis.
October 29, 2006: Despite the defeat of their "Summer Offensive," the Taliban have refused a government offer to negotiate. Actually, most of the former Taliban tribal and religious leaders have made peace with the government. But a radical (even by Taliban standards) faction, based in Pakistan, continues to fight for the right to deny women education, other religions to be practiced, men to clean shaven and so on.
October 28, 2006: Al Qaeda has threatened to make terrorist attacks inside Canada, if Canadian troops are not withdrawn from Afghanistan. Taliban and al Qaeda attacks in Afghanistan have been concentrated on Canadian troops, as part of an attempt to inflict enough casualties to cause a political uproar back in Canada, and a public demand that the troops be withdrawn. Since that didn't work, a more direct approach is being tried.
