Bombs and baksheesh

摘要

Terrorism and guerrilla warfare are often intended as macabre theatre. And so it was on January 18th when teams of Afghan fighters and suicide-bombers slipped though concentric rings of checkpoints and brought mayhem to the centre of Kabul. They struck as President Hamid Karzai was swearing in members of his cabinet. Nearby, to the sound of explosions and gunfire in the streets, foreign guests were huddled in the Serena hotel, the target of two previous attacks. Smoke billowed out of a shopping centre. The Taliban kept up an online commentary on the progress of its "martyrdom-seekers".