Oracular Spectacular

This news hit yesterday, but it should be noted that yesterday's massive bombing in Kandahar is in line with the Quetta Shura Taliban's modus operandi in that -- like the prison break of 2008 -- it's a spectacular attack that is meant to send a message to the local population more than it is meant to kill people. These spectacular attacks are then combined with a below-the-radar campaign of fear and intimidation that we Westerners have been largely oblivious to over the past three years. Which is to say that we know it's going on but have no way of measuring the effect it is having on especially vulnerable populations in places like Kandahar City or Arghandab District.

(Modus operandi is Latin for "the way they roll, dawg")