India's deadly badge of honour

... Monday's suicide attack against the Indian embassy in Kabul, which killed 40 people (only four of them Indians), came as a shock. In recent years, Indian businesses and NGOs have been aiding Afghanistan's reconstruction. Indian movies and film stars are popular in Afghanistan. The two nations enjoy friendly relations. And many Afghans aspire to travel to India for business and employment possibilities. (Many of those who died, in fact, were lined up for visas.) Why would Islamist terrorists target India?The question, of course, answers itself: The Islamists hate India because it is a democratic, pluralistic, increasingly prosperous Western ally. Which is to say, it represents exactly what most Afghans want for their own nation. ...