Waiting to Be Killed

Responding to a press question that the Iraq war has made the United States less safe, yesterday Hamid Karzai, the leader of democratic Afghanistan, expressed incredulity:

"Terrorism was hurting us way before Iraq or September 11 .... These extremist forces were killing people in Afghanistan for years, closing schools, burning mosques, killing children, uprooting vineyards. They came to America on September 11, but they were attacking you before September 11 in other parts of the world. We are a witness in Afghanistan.

"Do you forget people jumping off the 80th floor or 70th floor when the planes hit them? Can you imagine what it will be for a man or woman to jump from that high? How do we get rid of them? ... Should we wait for them to come and kill us again?"

For critics of the current policy, the answer, apparently, is Yes.