Looking Into The Eyes Of A Suicide Bomber

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Staring Into The Eyes Of A Suicide Bomber -- Stars and Stripes

KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — The boy, dressed all in white, walked purposefully toward Staff Sgt. Shaun Frank as he stood guard over a wrecked vehicle in Kandahar province.

Frank, a 32-year-old Salt Lake City native, and his squad of soldiers from 4th Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment had been standing by the roadside for two hours waiting for a wrecker to tow a vehicle that had rolled over near a cluster of buildings.

On his second combat deployment, Frank had seen his share of improvised explosive devices.

He’d never encountered a suicide bomber, but when he saw the look on the boy’s face, he knew that he was staring into the eyes of one.


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My Comment: A short but a riveting read.

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Afghanistan's Young Militants Are Ready To Kill And Die

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers approach the would-be suicide attacker. PARWIZ/REUTERS

Young Militants Ready To Die, Eager To Kill -- Mark Magnier, L.A. Times

Abdul Wali Fadaei is 17 and serving a four-year term at an Afghan rehabilitation center for planning a suicide attack. When he gets out, he'll 'decide about trying again.'

Abdul Wali Fadaei is proud of his family history.
His father died when he drove an explosives-laden car into the capital's upscale Hotel Inter-Continental in 2011, a brazen attack that killed 18 people, including seven militants.

His brothers — he won't say how many or their ages — are studying to become suicide bombers.

Fadaei, 17, was arrested last year before he was able to detonate the explosives he'd transported in a Toyota from Kandahar to Kabul in order to kill Americans.

"The message my father left me when he became a martyr was that I should follow him," Fadaei said, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone while sitting on a thin mattress in a small, dank room in Kabul's government-run juvenile rehabilitation center.

"I regret my attack failed, but I gained by trying. I'll decide about trying again after I'm out."

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My Comment: 17 years old and already a homicidal maniac. The legacy of decades of war now points to even more war and conflict for the future.

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