Some serious commentary on the Great Escape of Kabul, mocked by Walt yesterday. Graeme Smith, writing in the Globe and Mail, poses some excellent questions.
Two uncomfortable lessons could be drawn from the latest Taliban jailbreak in Kandahar: Either the locals were scared to talk about it, or they supported the insurgent plot. Neither option reflects well on NATO strategy in Afghanistan.
How could a team of insurgents camp out in southern Afghanistan's most heavily guarded city, spend months tunnelling and hauling away tons of earth, and attract no notice? Canada spent millions of dollars upgrading the prison and training its staff; Canadian intelligence agents and commandoes are stationed only three kilometres away, at a camp shared with their U.S. and British counterparts. Why didn't anybody tip them off?
Click here to read the rest of Mr. Smith's article.
Footnote: The article puts the number of escapees at "over 800", not a mere 480 as reported yesterday.
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