No Way Out but Forward

No doubt there are some who've shoved this story in their "Bush's eyes off the terrorist ball" file folders, but I see it as further evidence that the end game cannot be otherwise than a transformation of the entire region:

A suicide bomber wearing an Afghan military uniform detonated his concealed explosive vest near a bus full of Afghan soldiers on their way to work here in the capital early Saturday, killing at least 30 people, including two civilians, officials said. The bombing was among the deadliest in Afghanistan this year.

Later in the day, President Hamid Karzai said that he was willing to travel to the hide-out of the Taliban’s leader, Mullah Muhammad Omar, to conduct peace negotiations, and that he was prepared to allocate the leadership of some ministries to Taliban officials if they renounced further violence.

The comments seemed to reflect a more conciliatory and open posture toward peace negotiations with the Taliban, and they came a day after Mr. Karzai’s return from a trip to the United States that included talks at the United Nations and the White House. Earlier this year he forswore direct negotiations with Mr. Omar and has apparently never publicly said he was prepared to name Taliban fighters as ministers.

And the only way to transform the region is to make it crystal clear that we will not be true to form (as some folks perceive our form) and flee from media savvy insurgencies that leverage the suicide cult mentality of their followers.