Kabul suicide bombing killed 90 and injured up to 400. Some

[applegrove]

americans were hurt. Vibes to all. Barbara Starr at CNN

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Americans or not, this is really tragic.

Nobody wants to go there, but it looks like retaliation for the the giant bomb trump dropped a few weeks ago.

[maxsolomon]

2. how do you figure?

suicide bombs are a regular part of asymmetrical warfare in Afghanistan.

[applegrove]

3. This bomb made a hole 40 x 30 feet deep in the ground. I think that is new.

[linuxman]

5. It's really not. Like at all.

[Gravitycollapse]

11. This is one of the deadliest truck bomb attacks in Afghan history.

In fact, I've been unable to find one that produced a higher death count.

[linuxman]

14. Then they chose well when they detonated it.

I've personally (like, with my own eyballs) seen as large. Shockingly, today wasn't the first time someone thought to fill a large truck with explosives.

Here's a highlight reel.

https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=583_1428439696

[Gravitycollapse]

17. You seem intent on making this appear mundane.

A decade and a half of war has (presumably) not produced a deadlier car bomb than this one. That's significant.

[linuxman]

19. I'm intent on the facts.

There are at least 18 on this list that exceed the death toll from today, with many more right near that level.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_car_bombings

I'm not going to sit here and pretend this is some new, hitherto unknown tactic of terrorists. It's literally one of the oldest tools in the modern terrorism arsenal. The Taliban, or whoever is responsible didn't get the idea from watching the MOAB, then go "Fuck! bigger bombs are better! We'll do it right back".

I spent a good amount of my early years in Iraq, 4 years obtaining a degree is security studies, and a few years after that working for the State Department in Afghanistan. I'm more than a little familiar with the tactics and techniques of terrorist/insurgent groups in the region. The idea that this attack is new, novel, or some sort of special response is laughable. Some people on this site seem to think before today, it was all Opels some HME and a couple propane tanks.

[Gravitycollapse]

20. You know the Middle East isn't just one country, right?

Of course you do, given your credentials.

Check the list for a deadlier attack in Afghanistan.

[linuxman]

23. You are aware that Afghanistan isn't in the middle east, right?

If you are using the death toll alone as a metric of bomb power, you're not going to get an accurate picture of its strength. I've personally seen two as large as this in less dense areas with fewer casualties as a result. Hell, one killed like, ten or so near a police recruiting center a year and a half ago or so when I was there, but given the shit choice of location, a crater in the ground a quarter the size of an Olympic swimming pool only got a resulted in a few deaths. The page I've linked gives an idea of the size and effectiveness of the explosions, but not all are going to produce the same body count. My point is that that extremely large truck bombs are not new to the terrorist groups in the region. Suggesting this is a one off event is ignorance at best.

[Gravitycollapse]

22. By the way, it doesn't take an expert to know that car bombs happen.

I don't think anyone here was suggesting that such an attack was novel.

[linuxman]

24. No, it really doesn't

But if it helps to show someone I'm not just talking out my ass about some big boom I saw on the teevee one time, I'll lend my personal experience to the discussion. It's usually not relevant, so when it is, it's nice to contribute what I have.

See post #3.

[AngryAmish]

4. 16 years in, it is time we fucked right off of there.

Zero reason to stay.

If they ever misbehave again do a punative raid. Break the dams, kill the livestock.

[Gravitycollapse]

8. Sounds suspiciously like you're calling for scorched earth against innocent people.

[cwydro]

18. What?

The second part of your post is kind of, um, deranged.

[Rustyeye77]

6. Damn Fundies

[malaise]

7. Posted about this early this morning

Sank like a stone

[applegrove]

9. I know it does. People just do not want to think about that part of the world. It has been 16 years.

Now Trump is trying to convince Trudeau to go back to Afghanistan with troops. I do not know what the answer is.

[malaise]

10. All I know is war never has one side

I'm sick of it

[applegrove]

12. I know. And then I think do you really want to have one country in the world living in the 1400s

and doing sick things to each other. And the women under the Taliban. But it is not my *** getting sent to war. So perhaps I should stay out of it.

[Boomerproud]

13. This should be the top story today...but no...Kathy Griffin insulted 45

Our priorities are so screwed. (for the victims)

[flamingdem]

15. What happened to 24/7 coverage if it bleeds it leads?

Quiet on this probably due to lack of video and reporters on the ground

[gratuitous]

16. Popular media probably waiting for Trump to tweet

In the past, they've known what to think because Candidate Trump would tell them how weak this made the U.S. look, and what an ineffectual president Obama was. They obviously can't say that now, and since they've ceded their reasoning faculties to Lord Littlehands and his jabby little thumbs, they're going to have to wait until Trump notices that a bunch of people got killed in Afghanistan.

[moondust]

21. Left a crater the size of a swimming pool.

Possibly the biggest bomb ever in Kabul.