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On July 21st, five suicide bombers attacked government sites in the eastern Afghan city of Gardez. Their targets were the city’s intelligence department, police department, and provincial governor’s house. In addition to the bombers themselves, five Afghan security forces were killed. The Taliban has made frequent use of such suicide attacks, the training for which is apparently provided by the Al Qaeda network. In recent years the Taliban has managed to fill the ranks of its recruits due to growing anger at the US/NATO occupation. In an essay published last week on TomDispatch, author and Foreign Policy in Focus co-director John Feffer argues that the trend toward precise targeting by suicide bombers and increasingly high civilian casualties by the Western occupation has blurred the distinction between these acts of violence. The American media and some scholars depict suicide missions in the Middle East as incomprehensible and very different from Western warfare. But, Feffer explains that suicide missions have long been a field-leveling tactic employed by those from — Eastern and Western countries — facing a tough battle. He claims that they are generally used by the outnumbered group against an occupying force to have a large effect at little expense.

GUEST: John Feffer, author and Foreign Policy in Focus co-director

Read Feffer’s article here: http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6330