Carnage in Afghanistan

A suicide bomber blew himself up and killed more than 90 people, including members of the Afghan Parliament at a celebration today. Most of those killed were children who were in attendance.

Scores of people were killed or wounded in a suicide attack on a group of legislators in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, according to a parliamentarian who survived the attack.

Six parliamentarians were either killed or wounded in the attack, which occurred in Baghlan Province as the legislators were about to tour a sugar factory, parliamentarian Shukria Barakzai said.

She said most of the victims were schoolchildren who had gathered in the area to welcome the legislators.

Moustafa Kazimi, a former commerce minister and spokesman for the Northern Alliance that had fought against the Taliban, was among the parliamentarians who died, she said.

Reuters quoted a local hospital director as saying the attack killed 90 people, including five parliamentarians, and wounded 50.

If you want one reason why the Islamists will not win in the long run, this is it. Even people who might oppose the American presence realize that the Americans do not target children. The Islamic terrorists, including al Qaeda, do.

It was the overwhelming carnage that helped turn the Iraqis against the terrorists and insurgents throughout the Iraqi provinces. This may pave the way for something similar in Afghanistan.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, NATO airstrikes killed scores of Taliban thugs.